Cvbrarjp  of t:he  theological  ^tminaxy 

PRINCETON    .    NEW  JERSEY 

'tfi  vW 

PRESENTED  BY 

Clarence   L.    Le crone 

BS  26  2  5 


THE    CHURCH    IN    THE    HOUSE 


A    SERIES    OF    LESSONS    ON 


THE   ACTS   OF   THE   APOSTLES. 


THE 


Church  in  the  House 


A    SKRIES    OF 


LcjS)SoniS  on  tljt  2ct^  of  tl)e  ^pcjStlCjeJ 


BY       ^ 

WILLIAM     ARNOT 

La/e  !\Iinister  of  the  Free   Churcli  in   Edinhufgh 


JAN  v^  ■ 


NEW  YORK 

ROBERT  CARTER  &  BROTHERS 

530  Broadway 

1883 


ST.  JOHN-LAND 
„^  PRINTED    BY 

STEREOTYPE    FOUNDRY. 

o,,^  E.    O.    JENKINS, 

SUFFOLK    CO.,   N.    y. 

223    WILLIAM    ST.,    r 


PREFATORY  NOTE. 


As  these  expositions  have  been  prepared,  partly  at  least, 
with  a  view  to  their  use  in  families  on  the  evening  of  the 
Lord's  day,  no  process  of  criticism  has  been  allowed  to  ap- 
pear, except  such  as  may  be  understood  and  appreciated  by 
any  intelligent  person  who  has  received  at  once  a  common 
and  a  Scriptural  education.  No  reference  to  sources  or  books 
has  been  given.  Some  questions  have  been  passed  over,  though 
important  and  interesting  in  themselves,  because  Evangelical 
Christians  have  not  yet  attained  unity  of  judgment  regarding 
them.  According  to  the  example  exhibited  in  the  Scriptures, 
expositions  of  doctrine  and  exhortations  for  practice  have  been 
freely  intermingled.  The  reader  will  not  find  in  this  volume 
a  continuous  and  exhaustive  critical  examination  of  the  Acts 
of  the  Apostles;  but  he  has  a  right  to  expect  a  simple  elucida- 
tion and  enforcement  of  its  lessons,  as  they  bear  on  our  own 
times  and  our  own  circumstances. 

W.   A. 


CONTENTS. 


I. 
II. 
III. 

IV. 
V. 

\1. 

VII. 

^^II. 

IX. 
X. 

XI. 
XII. 
XIII. 


THE    GOSPEL    AND   THE    ACTS 
Acts  i.  I. 

FIXAL    INSTRUCTIONS 
Acts  i.  2-7. 


WITNESSES         ..... 
Acts  i.  8. 

THE    ASCENSION  ...  * 

Luke  xxiv.  50-52. 

WAITING    AND    PRAYING        .  .  . 

Acts  i.  9-14. 

THE    SPIRIT    AT    PENTECOST 
Acts  ii.  1-4. 

THE    TONGUES    OF   FIRE 
Acts  ii.  4. 

THE    SEED    OF   THE   WORD    IS   SPREAD  . 
ActsiJ.  5-1 1. 

MISSIONS  ..... 

Acts  ii.  12. 

AN    APOSTLE    PREACHES 
Acts  ii.  14. 

RIGHTLY   DIVIDING   THE    WORD    OF   TRUTH 
Actsii.  37-40. 

CHRISTIAN    FESTIVITY 
Acts  ii.  46. 

AT   ONCE    GODLY    AND    POPULAR   . 
Acts  ii.  47. 

THE    USE   OF    MIRACLES 
Acts  iii.  12,  13. 


FAGB 

13 

17 

21 

28 
34 
38 
40 

43 

47 
50 
54 

58 

65 

70 


Contents. 


XV,     WOUNDING   TO    HEAL 
Acts  iii.  14-26. 

XVI.    THE    FIRST   PERSECUTION    . 
Acts  iv.  1-4. 

XVir.    ADD    TO    YOUR    FAITH,    COURAGE 
Acts  iv.  7-13. 

XVIII.     EVERY    CREATURE    AFTER    ITS    KIND 
Acts  iv.  23. 

XIX.    THE    PRAYER    OF   THE    PRIMITIVE    CHURCH 
Acts  iv.  24-29. 

XX.    POWER   TO    BE   WITNESSES 
Acts  iv.  31-35. 

XXr.    A   SON    OF   CONSOLATION     . 
Acts  iv.  36,  37. 

XXII.    THE    BEACON  :    ANANIAS 
Acts  V.  I-IO. 

XXIII.     AFTER    JUDGMENT,     REVIVAL 
Acts  V.  II-14. 

XXIV.     HOW   THE    SEED    GREW         .  .  . 

Acts  V.  1 7^-26. 


XXV. 

AGAIN    AT   THE    BAR 

Acts  V.  27-29. 

XXVI. 

EXALTED    TO    GIVE 

Acts  V.  30,  31. 

XXVIL 

GAMALIEL 

Acts  V.  33-42. 

XXVIII. 

THE    DEACONS 

Acts  vi.  1-6. 

XXIX.    TROUBLES    BEARING    BLESSED    FRUITS   . 
Acts  VI.  7-15. 

XXX.   Stephen's  testimony       .... 
Acts  vii. 

XXXI.  Stephen's  death    ..... 

Acts  vii.  60. 

XXXII.  THE     PERSECUTION     OF    THE    CHRISTIANS    THE    IN 

CREASE   OF   THE    CHURCH 
Acts  viii.  1-4. 

XXXIII.    PHILIP   PREACHING    IN    A    SAMARITAN    CITY     . 
Acts  viii.  5. 

XXXIV.     FRUIT — JOY       ...... 

Acts  viii.  6-8. 


Contents. 


IX 


XXXVIII. 


XXXV.    SENT   TO    THE   DESERT         .... 
Acts  viii.  26. 

XXXVI.     A    MAN    OF    ETHIOPIA  .... 

Acts  viii.  27,  28. 

XXVII.     THE    MEETING  ..... 

Acts  viii.  29. 

THE    SEED    SOWN    AND    THE    HARVEST    REAPED 
Acts  viii.  30-39. 

SAUL        ....... 

Acts  ix.  1-3. 

THE    lord's    word — CONSOLATION 
Acts  ix.  4. 

THE    lord's    WORD — REPROOF      . 
Acts  ix.  4. 


XL. 
XLI. 


XLII.    THE    ENEMY    SURRENDERS 
Acts  ix.  5-14. 

XLIIL    THE    VESSEL    CHOSEN    AND    CHARGED     . 
Acts  ix.  15. 

XLIV.    THE    VESSEL    EMPLOYED       .... 
Acts  ix.  15. 

XLV.    THE    LORD    REIGNETH  .... 

Acts  ix.  15. 

xLvr.   Saul's  first  experiences  as  a  christian 
Acts  ix.  22-31. 

XLVn.     DORCAS    ....... 

Acts  ix.  36-42. 

aAIII.     A    LIGHT   TO    LIGHTEN    THE    GENTILES 
Acts  X. 

XLIX.     S.WED    BY    THE    WORD  .... 

Acts  xi.  14. 

L.    THOU    AND    ALL   THY    HOUSE 
Acts  xi.  14. 

LI.    PRIMITIVE    CHRISTIANITY    .... 
Acts  xi.  19-21. 

LII.    THE    GRACE   THAT   BARNABAS    SAW 
Acts  xi.  23. 

LIIL     THE    GLADNESS    THAT    BARNABAS    EXPERIENCED 
Acts  xi.  23. 

LIV.    THE    EXHORT.\TION    THAT    BARNABAS    GAVE     . 
Acts  xi.  23. 


Contents. 


LV.     BARNABAS    AND    SAUL   AT   ANTIOCH 
Acts  xi.  24-30. 

LVI.    HEROD    VEXES    THE    CHURCH 
Acts  xii.  1-8. 

LVir.     ANTIOCH    OCCUPIED    FOR    CHRIST 
Acts  xii.  20-25;  "^i'-  ^• 


-CYPRUS 


LVIII.    THE    FIRST    FOREIGN   MISSION. 
Acts  xiii.  2-12. 

LIX.    THE    GOSPEL   IN    ASIA   MINOR 
Acts  xiii.  13-52. 

LX.    ONCE   WAS    I    STONED 
Acts  xiv.  1-2 1. 

LXL    THROUGH    MUCH   TRIBULATION     . 
Acts  xiv.  22. 

LXII.    THE    MISSIONARIES    RETURN    TO    ANTIOCH 
Acts  xiv.  23-28. 

LXIII.    THE    COUNCIL    OF   JERUSALEM 
Acts  XV. 

LXIV.    THE    GOSPEL    INTRODUCED    INTO    EUROPE 
Acts  xvi.  8-13. 

LXV.     LYDIA       ...... 

Acts  xvi.  14,  15. 

LXVL     THE    PYTHONESS  .... 

Acts  xvi.  16-24. 


LXVII. 

LXVIII. 

LXIX. 

LXX. 

LXXI. 

LXXII. 


SONGS    IN   THE    NIGHT 
Acts  xvi.  25. 

THE    JAILER      . 

Acts  xvi.  26-31. 

FAITH    AND    OBEDIENCE 
Acts  xvi.  31-40. 


"my    KINGDOM    IS    NOT    OF   THIS    WORLD ' 
Acts  xvii.  1-9. 

BEREAN    NOBILITY       .... 
Acts  xvii.  10,  II. 

SOME    AN    HUNDRED-FOLD    . 
Acts  xvii.  12. 

LxxiiL   Paul's  arrival  at  .\thens 

Acts  xvii.  14-16. 

LXXIV.     A    CITY   GIVEN    TO    IDOL.-VTRY 
Acts  xvii.  16. 


Contents. 


XI 


LXXV.     THE    PHILOSOPHERS  ..... 
Acts  xvii.  17,  18. 

LXXVI.     ALL   THINGS    TO    ALL    MEN 
Acts  xvii.  22-31 

LXXVII.     SOME     FELL     ON     THE     WAYSIDE,     SOME     ON     GOOD 
GROUND  ...... 

Acts  xvii.  32-34. 

LXVIII.    THE    WORLD    BY    WISDOM    KNEW    NOT    GOD       . 
Acts  xviii.  1-9. 

LXXIX.    THE    MISSIONARY    AND    THE    GOVERNOR 
Acts  xviii.  9-17. 

LXXX.     PAIL    AND    APOLLOS  .... 

Acts  xviii.  18-28. 

LXXXI.     CONVINCING   AND    PERSUADING      . 
Acts  xix.  8. 

LXXXII.    THE    STRONG    MAN    CAST    OUT    BY   THE    STRONGER 
Acts  xix.  9-17. 

LXXXIII.     THE    TWO    DIMENSIONS, BREADTH    AND    DEPTH 

Acts  xix.  20. 

LXXXIV.    THE    UPROAR    IN    EPHESUS 
Acts  xix.  21-41. 

LXXXV.     A    COMMUNION    SABBATH    AT   TROAS 
Acts  XX.  I-12. 

Lxxxvr.   Paul's  address  to  the  elders  of  ephesus 

Acts  XX.  13-30. 

LXXXVII.    THE    LARGER    BLESSING,    AND    THE    LESS 
Acts  XX.  35. 

LXXXVIII.    THE    HIGH    PRIEST    INSULTING   PAUL      . 
Acts  xxiii.  I,  2. 

LXXXIX.     PAUL    ANSWERING   THE    HIGH    PRIEST    . 
Acts  xxiii.  3-1 1. 

XC.    COMPASSED    WITH    HIS    FAVOR    AS    WITH    A    SHIELD 
Acts  xxiii.  12-35. 

XCL    THE    PARTIES    AT   THE    BAR 
Acts  xxiv.  1-23. 

XCII.     PAUL    AND    FELIX        ..... 
Acts  xxiv.  24,  25. 

XCIII.     CONVICTIONS    RESISTED    BEAR    NO    GOOD    FRUIT 
Acts  xxiv.  26,  27. 

XCIV.    THE    NEW    GOVERNOR  .... 

Acts  XXV. 


xu 


Contents. 


xcv. 

THE    GOSPEL   FULFILS 
Acts  xxvi.  l-i6. 

THE    LAW 

PAGE 

XCVI. 

KNOWING   THE    TRUE, 
Acts  xxvi.  1 8. 

AND    DOING    THE    RIGHT 

.          422 

XCVII. 

SOBERNESS 

Acts  xxvi.  25. 

• 

.          426 

XCVIII. 

THE    UPPER    CLASSES 
Acts  xxvi.  25. 

. 

.          430 

XCIX. 

THE    VOY.\GE     . 

Acts  xxvii.  1-25. 

. 

.          434 

c. 

IN   THE    STORM 

Acts  xxvii.  24-37. 

. 

.          439 

CI, 

.\LL   SAVED 

Acts  xxvii.  33-44;  xxviii.  I-IO. 

.          443 

CII. 

THE    MEETING 

Acts  xxviii.  II-15. 

.... 

.          447 

cm. 

GRATITUDE    AND    FORTITUDE 
Acts  xxviii.  15,  16. 

•          451 

CIV. 

PAUL    IN    ROME 

Acts  xxviii.  17-22. 

. 

•          455 

CV. 

CLOSING    GLIMPSES      . 

. 

.          459 

Acts  xxviii.  23-31. 


THE 

CHURCH   Ix\   THE   HOUSE. 

3  $crics  of  iLrssons  on  tfjr  Erts  of  rfjc  Hpostlrs. 


I. 

THE   GOSPEL  AXD    THE  ACTS. 

^"■Thi  former  treatise  have  I  made.  O  TheopMlus,  of  all  that  Jesus  began 
both  to  do  and  teaik." — ACTS  I.  I. 

In  determining  the  relation  which  subsists  between  the 
evangelic  histories  and  the  Book  of  the  Acts,  it  is  not 
enough  to  observe  that  while  the  Gospels  contain  the 
history  of  the  Master's  own  ministry,  this  book  records 
the  labors  of  the  apostles.  Both  alike  narrate  the  work 
of  the  Lord:  the  Gospels,  what  he  did  in  person  when 
he  was  here;  the  Acts,  what  he  did  by  the  ministry  of 
his  chosen  witnesses  after  he  had  ascended. 

This  distinction  is  marked  in  the  first  verse.  Luke 
intimates  that  in  the  former  treatise  he  had  recorded 
"all  that  Jesus  began  both  to  do  and  teach";  implying 
that  the  history  which  he  is  now  about  to  compose  will 
be  occupied  with  what  Jesus  continued  both  to  do  and 
teach  after  he  had  sat  down  at  the  right  hand  of  the 
Father.  The  distinction  is  not  that  the  former  treatise 
dealt  with  what  Jesus  did,  and  the  latter  with  what 
was  done  by  the  apostles;  the  distinction  is,  that  the 
former  treatise  told  what  Jesus  did  in  the  first  place, 
and  the  latter  what  Jesus  did  in  the  second.  The  first 
part  of  Christ's  work  has  already  in  the  Gospels  been 
recorded;  and  now  in  another  treatise  the  second  part, 
or  the  continuation,  of  his  work  will  be  told.  His  min- 
istry, death,  resurrection,  and  ascension  constituted* 
only  the  beginning  or  foundation  of  the  Redeemer's 
work.     But  after  the  foundation  has  been  laid  a  lofty 


14  TJie   Church  in  the  House. 

temple  must  be  reared  upon  it;  and  the  builder  of  this 
temple  is  Christ  the  Lord.  When  he  ascended  from 
the  Mount  of  Olives,  a  way  was  opened  from  earth  to 
heaven;  but  a  multitude  whom  no  man  can  number 
must  be  led  by  it  into  glory:  and  none  can  lead  them 
but  himself,  the  Captain  of  their  salvation,  the  Bishop 
of  their  souls. 

This  book,  then,  is  the  continuation  of  "  the  life  of 
Jesus  "  by  the  evangelist  Luke.  Nor  did  the  Lord's 
work  on  earth  cease  at  the  date  when  this  history 
closes.  Hitherto  the  Son  worketh,  and  will  work  till 
the  end.  He  shall  not  cease  from  his  work  until  the 
kingdoms  of  this  world  shall  have  all  become  his  own. 
The  working  of  Christ  upon  the  earth  does  not  cease 
when  the  inspired  history  of  it  ceases.  The  track  of 
the  Redeemer's  way  is  marked  on  this  inspired  chart 
only  a  stage  or  two  into  the  desert,  and  there  it  breaks 
abruptly  off;  but  the  way  of  the  Lord  does  not  stop 
where  this  track  of  it  comes  to  an  end.  In  a  map  of 
the  city;  you  may  see  the  road  that  leads  to  another 
city  laid  down  for  a  little  way  beyond  the  wall,  and 
then  broken  off  abruptly  in  a  field.  The  first  stage  is 
traced  on  the  map  to  show  that  there  is  a  road,  and  in 
what  direction  it  goes;  but  the  road  does  not  terminate 
in  that  field  a  few  yards  beyond  the  city  walls:  the 
road  leads  all  the  way  to  the  capital,  and  passengers 
throng  it  from  end  to  end,  from  day  to  day.  It  is  thus 
that  the  Book  of  the  Acts  marks  our  Lord's  goings 
after  his  resurrection  only  a  stage  or  two  forward  as  a 
specimen  to  show  us  the  character  of  his  rule;  but  his 
goings  continue  with  his  people  still,  and  will  continue 
until  the  last  of  the  ransomed  shall  enter  rest. 

This  latter  treatise  does  not  begin  precisely  where 
the  former  treatise  ends.  By  design,  and  not  by  acci- 
dent, the  two  overlap  each  other.  The  resurrection 
and  ascension  of  Christ  constitute  the  last  portion  of 
the  Gospel,  and  the  first  portion  of  the  Acts.  The 
same  facts  appear  at  the  close  of  one  book  and  at  the 
outset  of  an-otiier. 

Thus,  when  a  bridge  of  two  arches  spans  a  deep 
river,  both  arches  lean  on  one  pillar  that  rises  in  the 
middle  of  the  flood.  In  the  midst  of  the  gulf  that 
separated  God  and  man,  and  in  the  midst  too  of  the 


The   (.1  OS  pi  I  and  the  Acts.  15 

tide  of  time,  stood  Jesus:  on  him  the  old  dispensation 
rests,  and  on  him  the  new. 

In  the  beginning  God  created  the  heavens  and  the 
earth.  From  the  soHd  shore  of  a  past  eternity  sprang 
the  covenant  of  grace;  but  it  bent  over  and  bent  down 
seeking  support  in  the  middle  of  the  ages.  It  cannot 
go  over  from  eternity  to  eternity  at  a  single  span.  But 
here  and  among  men  there  was  nothing  which  could 
bear  our  side  of  the  covenant,  corresponding  to  God's 
side  of  it,  leaning  on  eternal  righteousness  before  time 
began.  There  was  nothing  here  but  a  fathomless  deep 
of  sin  and  misery.  Man's  extremity  was  God's  oppor- 
tunity. Through  this  flood  went  the  person  and  work 
of  Christ,  and  became  a  foundation,  in  humanity,  equal 
to  and  corresponding  with  the  eternal  righteousness 
which  supported  the  arch  at  the  other  side.  God  with 
us  stands  up  in  the  sea  of  humanity,  as  a  pier  in  mid- 
stream. Divine  justice  found  a  resting-place  on  him. 
This  is  my  beloved  Son,  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased. 
Thus  the  purpose  of  mercy,  like  the  bow  of  promise, 
spanned  the  space  from  eternity  down  to  the  fulness 
of  time,  when  the  Son  of  God  took  our  nature,  and 
wrought  out  a  righteousness  for  us  and  in  our  stead. 
There  stands  the  arch  now,  resting  on  the  Father's 
eternal  purpose  on  the  one  side,  and  on  the  Son's  aton- 
ing death  on  the  other.  In  the  end  of  the  Gospel  his- 
tory we  found  the  first  hemisphere  of  the  Divine  dispen- 
sation, terminating  in  Christ  crucified  and  ascended. 
That  part  of  the  redemption  was  finished  when  Mes- 
siah died.  Now,  at  the  beginning  of  the  Acts,  we  find 
the  second  arch  springing  where  the  first  was  finished. 
This  second  part  begins,  as  the  first  part  ended,  with 
the  death,  resurrection,  and  ascension  of  the  Lord. 
Resting  there,  it  rises  into  the  heavens,  and  stretches 
away  into  the  future.  We  lose  sight  of  it,  as  we  often 
lose  sight  of  the  rainbow,  in  mid-heavens;  but  we  know 
assuredly  that  it  will  traverse  all  the  intervening  space, 
and  lean  secure  on  the  continent  of  a  coming  eternity. 
From  shore  to  shore  the  way  of  mercy  reaches  across 
the  bottomless  gulf  of  fallen  humanity,' the  last  side  of 
the  first  circle  and  the  first  side  of  the  second  resting 
both  on  the  representative  Man,  our  Brother  and  Sub- 
stitute, the  second  Adam,  the  Lord  from  heaven. 


1 6  TJie   CJnirch   in   tJic  House. 

Between  the  birth  of  Christ  in  Bethlehem  and  his 
ascension  from  the  Mount  of  Olives  intervened  a  pe- 
riod of  nearly  thirty-four  years.  This  space  which,  ac- 
cording to  the  measurements  of  time  is  considerable, 
becomes  a  point  when  it  is  viewed  from  eternity;  as 
vast  worlds  seem  shining  sparks  when  they  lie  deep  in 
the  infinitude.  The  life  of  Jesus  in  the  world  was 
the  point  of  contact  between  the  finite  and  the  Infinite 
■ — the  meeting-place  between  God  and  man.  At  that 
point  God  touched  us,  and  we  were  not  consumed;  we 
touched  him,  and  yet  lived. 

When  the  Infinite  and  Eternal  Avould  make  himself 
known  to  us,  he  needs  must  fix  on  a  point  in  space — a 
moment  in  time.  Somewhere  on  the  surface  of  this 
inhabited  world,  and  at  some  period  in  the  course  of 
the  ages,  the  meeting  must  take  place.  In  Judaea, 
and  about  eighteen  hundred  and  seventy  years  ago, 
the  Word — who  was  with  God,  and  was  God — became 
flesh,  and  dwelt  among  us. 

Although,  according  to  our  mode  of  reckoning,  the 
contact  extended  over  a  portion  of  space  and  a  period 
of  time,  it  will  seem  only  a  point,  when  angels  look 
down  on  it,  or  saints  look  back.  With  the  ascension 
from  the  Mount  of  Olives,  Christ's  personal  ministry 
on  earth  was  closed.  Here  the  eclipse  went  off,  and 
the  Sun  of  Righteousness  shone  forth  again  in  the  sight 
of  the  unfallen,  free  from  the  obscuration,  partial  and 
temporary,  which  he  had  undergone. 

When  an  eclipse  comes  on  the  sun,  a  strange  gloom 
is  spread  over  all  the  heavens,  and  the  sun  seems  to 
have  been  robbed  of  his  glory;  but  when  you  have 
waited  a  while,  and  marked  the  changing  phases  of  the 
phenomenon,  you  observe  that  the  sun  is  shaking  off 
the  cold  shadow  of  our  satellite  that  seemed  to  cover 
his  disc.  The  last  remnant  of  the  darkness  disappears, 
and  the  light  of  day  emerges  in  all  his  former  glory. 

One  can  well  imagine  that  to  angelic  spirits,  who 
imperfectly  understood  his  attributes  and  his  plans, 
the  incarnation  of  the  Son  might  seem  like  a  solar 
eclipse.  Some  cold,  dark,  earthly  orb  comes  in  con- 
tact with  their  Lord,  and  his  glory  is  to  their  view  for 
the  time  obscured.  Throughout  those  thirty-three 
years  the  angels  may  have  been  occupied  inquiring  in 


Final  Instnictio)is.  IJ 

curious  wotuler  \\hat  had  caused  the  unwonted  dim- 
ness of  their,  day;  and  they  may  have  experienced  a 
glad  rehef  when  the  obscuration  passed  off,  and  He 
whom  they  worship  resumed  his  throne. 

We,  on  our  part,  are  permitted  to  draw  near  also 
and  behold  the  great  sight.  The  parting  scene  is  de- 
picted in  this  history.  The  Son  of  God  had  grasped^ 
fallen  world  that  he  might  save  it,  and  now  he  lets 
that  world  go  again — no,  he  is  not  really  letting  it  go; 
for  he  has  taken  hold  of  our  nature  and  has  borne  it 
with  him  to  his  throne.  He  still  holds  fast  this  world; 
ever  tight  is  the  line  of  love  that  binds  him  to  all  his 
own.  Keen  and  sensitive,  as  the  nerves  that  unite 
head  and  members,  are  those  lines  through  which  his 
love  thrills  down  into  his  people,  and  their  hope  goes 
up  to  fasten  on  the  anchor,  sure  and  steadfast,  within 
the  veil. 


n. 

FJiVAL  INSTRUCTIONS. 

"  Until  the  day  in  ivkick  he  was  taken  up,  after  that  he  through  tlie 
Holy  Ghost  had  given  commandments  tmto  the  apostles  whom  he  had  chos- 
en: to  whom  also  he  shcioed  himself  alive  after  his  passion  by  many  infal- 
lible proofs,  being  seen  of  them  forty  days,  and  speaking  of  the  things  per- 
taining to  the  kingdom  of  God:  and,  being  assembled  together  with  them, 
commanded  them  that  they  should  not  depart  from  firusalem,  but  wait  for 
the  promise  of  the  Father,  which,  sailh  he,  ye  have  heard  of  me.  For  John 
truly  baptized  with  water;  but  ye  shall  be  baptized  with  the  Holy  Ghost  not 
many  days  hence.  When  they  therefore  were  come  together,  they  asked  of 
hint,  saying.  Lord,  wilt  thou  at  this  time  restore  again  the  kingdom  to  Is- 
rael? And  he  said  unto  them.  It  is  not  for  you  to  know  the  times  or  the 
seasons,  which  the  Father  hath  put  in  his  o'wn power.'^ — Acts  i.  2-7. 

In  this  his  second  statement  of  the  event,  the  inspired 
historian  has  been  directed  to  express  very  precisely 
the  kind  of  evidence  by  which  the  resurrection  of  Jesus 
was  proved  to  the  original  witnesses,  and  through  them 
to  us.  "  To  whom  he  showed  himself  alive  after  his 
passion,  by  many  infallible  proofs;  being  seen  of  them 
forty  days,  and  speaking  of  the  things  pertaining  to 
the  kingdom  of  God."  As  the  faith  of  the  whole  Church 
depends  absolutely  on  the  resurrection  of  our  Redeem- 
er, it  pleased  God  to  give  ample  evidence  of  the  fact. 


1 8  The   Church   in  the  House. 

But  he  gave  no  other  evidence  than  that  which  appeals 
to  the  senses  of  men.  There  is  no  other,  possible  way 
of  proving  a  fact  than  by  the  evidences  of  the  senses. 
Even  our  Maker  cannot  give  us  other  and  better  evi- 
dence of  a  fact,  unless  he  should  first  change  radically 
our  nature.  The  evidence  of  Christ's  resurrection  is 
c*omplete.  Faith  is  satisfied,  and  reason  too.  But  ob- 
serve how  this  bears  on  the  Romish  dogma  of  transub- 
stantiation.  The  pillar  on  which  that  house  stands  is 
the  assumption  and  assertion  of  the  priests  that  the 
senses  may  deceive,  and  cannot  implicitly  be  trusted. 
Themselves  being  witnesses,  if  this  assertion  falls,  their 
whole  doctrine  falls  with  it.  But  the  self-same  as- 
sumption that  sustains  transubstantiation,  would  leave 
the  resurrection  of  Christ  unproved  and  incapable  of 
proof.  Either  the  evidence  of  the  senses  is  valid  proof 
of  a  fact,  or  it  is  not.  If  it  is,  transubstantiation  is 
false;  if  it  is  not,  the  resurrection  of  Christ  is  not 
proved.  The  very  same  evidence  in  kind  and  degree 
which  proves  that  Christ  has  risen,  proves  also  that 
the  bread  and  wine,  after  priestly  consecration,  remain 
bread  and  wine,  and  are  not  changed  into  the  very 
body  and  blood  of  Christ.  Thus  the  Roman  apostasy 
cannot  sustain  its  fundamental  superstition,  without  at 
the  same  time  and  by  the  same  means  destroying  the 
proof  that  the  Redeemer  has  risen.  Antichrist  !  But, 
alas!  such  superstition  goeth  not  out  by  reasoning,  how- 
ever clear.  Those  who  drink  the  wine  of  Rome's  abom- 
inations, would  not  throw  aside  their  falsehood,  al- 
though one  rose  from  the  dead  to  tell  them  it  was 
false.  No  Protestant  should  make  light  of  Popery,  as 
if  it  were  out  of  date  and  effete.  It  is  a  power  of  dark- 
ness; but  it  is  a  power.  It  sees  its  own  way  and  knows 
its  own  mind  better  than  the  statesmen  who,  without 
believing  it,  fawn  upon  it  and  flatter  it,  apparently 
from  sheer  fear  of  being  counted  illiberal  in  religion. 
The  signs  of  the  times  bode  trouble.  Perhaps  the 
present  generation  of  Protestants  may  need  to  learn 
again  the  meaning  of  their  own  name.  It  is  not  flat- 
tering to  the  intellectual  pride  of  the  age,  if  the  age 
had  eyes  to  see  it,  that  one  of  its  great  movements  is 
towards  a  system  which  is  at  once  an  irrational  super- 
stition and  an  unmitigated  tyrrany. 


Filial  Instructions.  19 

The  last  question  which  the  disciples  addressed  to 
their  Master  immediately  before  he  ascended  out  of 
their  sight — "  Wilt  thou  at  this  time  restore  again  the 
kingdom  to  Israel  ? " — has  been  perhaps  too  hastily- 
represented  as  evidence  of  their  great  ignorance  and 
great  earthliness,  up  to  the  period  of  the  Pentecost, 
notwithstanding  their  privilege  of  constant  intercourse 
with  the  Lord.  The  question,  I  apprehend,  sprang 
from  a  true  spiritual  desire,  and  from  a  sound  though 
defective  knowledge  regarding  Messiah's  kingdom. 

When  you  look  up  to  the  sky  on  a  clear  night,  and 
fix  }-our  eye  on  two  stars  shining  near  each  other  with 
equal  brightness,  they  seem  to  your  sense  equally  dis- 
tant from  the  earth.  But  if  one  is  a  planet  of  our  sys- 
tem, and  the  other  a  fixed  star,  the  difference  between 
their  distances  is  very  great — not  indeed  beyond  the 
power  of  figures  to  express,  but  beyond  the  power  of 
imagination  clearly  to  conceive.  The  distance  of  the 
planet  from  the  earth  is  only  a  small  fraction  of  the 
distance  of  the  star.  Into  the  spiritual  firmament  these 
men  of  Galilee  looked  under  the  instruction  of  the 
Lord,  but  as  yet  they  looked  as  children.  They  saw 
objects  distinctly;  but  they  could  not  judge  correctly 
of  relative  distances  and  magnitudes.  The  two  ob- 
jects were  clearly  set  before  them  in  the  writings  of 
the  prophets  and  the  words  of  Jesus, — these  two,  their 
own  baptism  with  the  Holy  Ghost  as  with  fire,  and  the 
restoration  of  the  kingdom  to  Israel — the  union  of  all 
nations  under  David's  sceptre  in  the  New  Jerusalem. 
The  Master  had  now  given  them  the  distance  of  one 
of  these  objects:  it  was  at  hand — "Ye  shall  be  baptized 
w^ith  the  Holy  Ghost  not  many  days  hence."  In  the 
same  prophecy  of  the  Old  Testament  they  had  read 
of  that  baptism,  and  of  the  universal  submission  of  the 
nations  to  the  throne  of  David.  They  saw  the  two 
stars  in  the  same  direction,  and  they  thought  that 
they  were  in  the  same  plane.  Now  they  had  obtained 
express  intimation  regarding  one  of  these  twin  prom- 
ises, that  its  fulfilment  was  at  hand.  It  was  natural 
that  they  should  expect  that  the  same  bright  particu- 
lar star,  which  they  had  been  accustomed  to  see  shin- 
ing side  by  side  with  it  in  the  pure  expanse,  would 
approach  also  at  the  same  time.    Ilence  their  question. 


20  The   Church   in  the  House. 

"  Lord,  wilt  thou  at  this  time  restore  again  the  king- 
dom to  Israel  ?  " 

Their  conceptions,  I  think,  were  by  this  time  much 
more  elevated  than  they  were  at  the  beginning  of  their 
course.  Their  idea  of  the  kingdom  was  now  truer  than 
when  the  sons  of  Zebedee  sought  by  early  application 
to  secure  places  near  the  throne;  and  yet  it  may  also 
be  freely  owned  that  their  thoughts  fell  far  short,  not 
only  of  the  reality,  but  even  of  the  views  which  them- 
selves a  few  days  afterwards  obtained. 

The  baptism  by  the  Holy  Spirit  will  come  immedi- 
ately. Its  time  is  known  and  declared;  but  the  gather- 
ing of  the  nations  under  the  sceptre  of  David's  Son, 
although  fixed  in  the  heavens  and  shining  brightly 
thence,  is  still  far  away.  Times  and  seasons,  ages  and 
epochs,  intervene.  By  these,  in'  indefinite  measure 
and  unexpressed  number,  its  approach  is  indicated. 
The  time  of  the  end  lies  hid  in  the  Father's  counsel. 
A  wide  expanse,  by  man  immeasurable,  lies  between 
the  baptism  by  fire  of  the  first  apostles  for  their  min- 
istry, and  the  cry,  "The  kingdoms  of  this  world  have 
become  the  kingdoms  of  our  Lord  and  of  his  Christ." 
The  business  of  these  men  is  to  strike  in  upon  the  work, 
and  leave  the  issue  to  God.  When  shall  the  kingdom 
of  Christ  be  complete  .''  Answer:  What  is  that  to  thee  ? 
follow  thou  me.  These  ages  and  epochs  are  not  only 
hidden  in  the  Father's  purpose,  they  are  also  held  in 
the  Father's  hand.  He  doeth  according  to  his  will  in 
the  armies  of  heaven  and  among  the  inhabitants  of  the 
earth.  He  will  not  fail  in  his  purpose;  he  will  not  miss 
his  mark. 

While  it  is  right  and  proper  for  Christians  in  this 
age  of  the  world  to  observe  the  signs  of  the  times,  and 
endeavor  to  gird  up  their  loins  and  watch  for  the  com- 
ing of  the  Lord,  it  is  an  evidence  of  shallowness,  and 
cause  of  much  evil  speaking,  when  at  every  political 
event,  supposed  to  be  very  great  because  very  near 
the  observer,  they  give  forth  a  new  calculation  to  fix 
the  date  when  the  dispensation  will  come  to  a  close. 
Unbelievers  are  indeed  ready  to  scoff  at  the  simplest 
and  purest  profession  of  faith  in  God;  but  disciples  should 
beware  lest  they  give  adversaries  occasion  to  repeat 
their  sneers.     The  prophecies  of  Scripture  reveal  the 


JJ7//ii-ssc's.  21 

comintT  event,  and  keep  it  before  us  like  a  star  in  the 
firmament;  but  they  do  not  inform  us  how  near  it  is. 
The  Master,  when  the  disciples  asked  him,  besides 
refusing  to  give  them  the  day  and  the  date  of  his 
own  final  victory,  told  them  why  he  withheld  the  in- 
formation. He  withheld  it  for  their  sakes.  His  lan- 
guage is  not,  I  shall  not  tell  you  the  times  and  seasons; 
but,  It  is  not  for  you  that  I  should.  We  could  not  go 
so  steadil)'  in  harness  for  present  labor,  if  there  were  not 
blinders  before  our  eyes,  to  conceal  the  plan  of  Provi- 
dence and  the  goings  of  God  in  the  world.  It  would  not 
be  for  us,  but  against  us,  if  we  were  able  to  count  on 
our  fingers,  from  a  prophetical  text  or  two,  how  many 
years  the  world  will  last.  Such  knowledge  would  puff 
up,  and  therefore  it  is  not  given;  it  would  lead  us  to 
talk  and  speculate,  instead  of  doing  with  our  might 
what  our  hand  finds  to  do.  It  is  not  enough  that  we 
submit  to  leave  the  ages  and  epochs  in  the  Father's 
hand,  because  we  cannot  wrench  them  out  of  it:  we 
should  be  glad  and  grateful  that  he  spares  us  such 
sights  into  the  future  as  we  should  not  be  able  to 
bear.  It  is  the  part  of  a  dear  child  to  read  eagerly 
all  that  the  Father  reveals,  and  to  trust  implicitly 
wherever  the  Father  indicates  a  design  to  conceal. 
"  Blessed  are  those  servants  whom  the  Lord,  when 
he  Cometh,  shall  find" — not  prying  or  predicting,  but 
— "  watchine." 


III. 

WITNESSES. 


"  But  ye  shall  receive  power,  after  that  the  Holy  Ghost  is  come  upon  y out 
and  ye  shall  be  witnesses  unto  me  both  in  Jerusalem,  and  in  all  JudiZa,  and 
in  Samaria,  and  unto  the  uttermost  part  of  the  earths — Acts  I.  8. 

TlIK  chosen  band,  diminished  now  by  the  fall  of  Judas, 
are  clustering  affectionately  yet  reverently  round  the 
risen  Lord,  as  they  ascend  together  the  slope  of  Olivet, 
looking  their  last  look  upon  their  Master,  and  eagerly 
drinking  in  his  last  words.  They  knew,  for  he  had  told 
them,  that  his  departure  was  expedient  ;   but  in   their 


22  TJic   CJiurcJt   in   tJie   Hojise. 

hearts  they  felt  it  sad.  With  a  presentiment  that  the 
separation  was  at  hand,  they  united  all  in  one  final  ques- 
tion, "Lord,  wilt  thou  at  this  time  restore  again  the  king- 
dom to  Israel  ?"  In  these  circumstances  a  desire  to  pry 
into  the  future  was  natural;  but  in  the  estimate  of  the 
Master  it  was  unwise.  Accordingly,  he  firmjy  checks 
their  disposition  to  speculate  about  the  date  of  the  Mil- 
lennium; but  he  does  not  leave  them  dangling  idle  for 
want  of  an  object,  when  the  object  which  they  endeavored 
to  grasp  was  placed  conclusively  beyond  their  reach.  In 
removing  the  speculative  inquiry  from  their  mental  vis- 
ion, he  placed  a  great  practical  work  in  their  hands. 
This  is  the  Lord's  method,  and  it  manifests  a  Divine 
wisdom.  As  often  as  any  of  his  disciples  evinced  an 
inclination  to  follow  a  curious  speculation  regarding 
other  persons,  he  diverted  the  stream  of  their  energies 
into  some  channel  of  practical  duty  for  themselves.  The 
normal  example  of  this  method  is  the  reply  to  Peter's 
inquisitiveness  regarding  the  rumored  immortality  of 
John:  Qiicstioii — "And  what  shall  this  man  do.''"  An- 
szver — "  What  is  that  to  thee. -^  Follow  thou  me."  Away 
from  other,  people  and  other  times  the  word  of  the  Lord 
always  called  the  disciples,  and  fixed  them  down  to 
what  concerned  themselves  and  the  present. 

It  is  of  great  importance  to  observe  that  the  Lord 
did  not  cut  short  their  speculation  into  the  secrets  of 
the  Divine  purpose,  and  stop  there:  he  gathered  up  the 
broken  ends  of  their  energy,  and  fastened  them  to  an 
immediate  work.  If  the  planets  should  at  any  time 
stand  still  in  their  course,  they  would  be  drawn  into 
the  central  fire  and  consumed.  It  is  necessary  to  their 
well-being  that  they  should  be  flung  with  all  their  force 
on  a  path  of  activity.  Disciples  of  Christ,  both  in  ancient 
and  modern  times,  lie  under  a  similar  necessity.  Unless 
they  are  thrown  out  in  a  course  of  vigorous  action,  they 
will  be  drawn  into  an  orbit  so  narrow  that  action  will 
be  no  longer  possible. 

The  specific  office  to  which  the  disciples  are  called 
is  to  be  witnesses  unto  Christ;  and  yet  for  that  office 
they  were  and  are  unfit,  except  in  as  far  as  the  Lord 
imparts  the  power  through  the  communication  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.  "  Ye  shall  receive  power  after  that  the 
Holy  Ghost  is  come  upon  you:  and  ye  shall  be  witnesses 


Witiussis.  22 

jnto  mc."  The  power  of  witness-bearing  depends  on 
the  Spirit,  and  the  Spirit  is  the  gift  of  Christ.  Although 
those  men  were  themselves  saved,  they  were  not  fit  to 
work  any  deliverance  in  the  earth  by  their  own  wisdom 
or  strength.  Their  demand  for  fire  from  heaven  might 
have  consumed  their  adversaries,  but  could  not  have 
converted  them.  On  this  method  it  would  have  been 
long  ere  they  had  filled  God's  guest-chamber  by  a  mul- 
titude gathered  from  the  highways  and  hedges  of  the 
world.  Wanting  the  Spirit,  even  the  apostles  were  in- 
clined to  persecute;  and,  wanting  the  Spirit,  the  self- 
styled  successors  of  the  apostles  have  persecuted  in  all 
subsequent  times. 

The  Spirit  is  like  the  air.  The  Lord  breathed  on  his 
disciples,  and  said,  "Receive  ye  the  Holy  Ghost."  We 
could  not  live  our  present  natural  life  without  air.  The 
sun  in  the  heavens  would  not  warm,  us  if  the  atmosphere 
were  not  wrapped  round  the  globe.  The  air  is  near, 
and  the  sun  is  distant.  It  is  the  sun's  heat  that  sustains 
life;  but  the  sun's  heat  could  not  be  communicated  to 
plants  and  animals  without  the  intervention  of  the  at- 
mosphere. The  earth  is  as  completely  dependent  on 
air  for  its  supply  of  water  as  for  its  supply  of  heat.  The 
air  obtains  a  supply  from  the  ocean,  and  pours  it  on  the 
dry  land.  Thus  disciples  in  every  age  obtain  grace  from 
the  Lord  through  the  ministry  of  the  Spirit. 

But  the  specific  function  which  a  disciple  is  fitted, 
through  the  ministry  of  the  Spirit,  to  discharge,  is  to  be 
a  witness  unto  Christ.  Whom  Christ  saves  from  the 
world,  he  employs  in  the  world.  The  captives  taken 
from  the  enemy  in  this  warfare  are  one  by  one  incorpo- 
rated into  the  army  of  the  great  King,  and  sent  into 
the  field  to  fight  against  their  former  master.  Conspic- 
uous and  instructive,  in  this  aspect,  is  the  experience 
of  Paul.  When  the  Lord  overcame  and  took  captive 
that  emissary  of  the  Wicked  One,  the  victory  was  the 
seed  of  other  victories.  The  subdued  enemy  became  a 
good  and  great  soldier  of  Jesus  Christ.  The  captive, 
when  smitten  to  the  ground,  and  seized  and  disarmed, 
was  not  sent  to  prison;  was  not,  except  for  a  very  short 
time,  sent  even  to  the  rear,  but  ordered  to  the  front, 
where  the  battle  between  Christ's  kingdom  and  the  god 
of  this  world  was  raging. 


24  The   CiLurcJi   in   the  House. 

To  every  true  Christian  these  two  things  may  be  said : 
first,  you  have  need  of  Christ;  and  second,  Christ  ha:; 
need  of  you.  He  saves  you;  you  serve  him.  The  simple 
fact  that  a  Christian  is  on  earth  and  not  in  heaven,  is 
proof  that  there  is  something  for  him  here  to  do;  and 
if  he  is  not  doing  it,  the  neglect  shows  either  that  he  is 
not  yet  a  Christian  indeed,  or  that  he  is  a  Christian  who 
grieves  Christ.  A  broken  limb  hurts  him  who  owns  it 
more  than  if  it  were  completely  severed  from  his  body. 
Thus  the  Lord  is  hurt  by  those  w^ho,  being  his  members, 
do  not  witness  for  him. 

The  specific  reason  why  the  saved  are  left  in  the 
world  awhile  is,  that  they  may  be  witnesses  to  their 
Lord.  In  heaven  he  does  not  need  such  witnessing. 
There,  seeing  is  believing.  The  Lamb  is  the  light  of 
heaven,  and  there  is  no  need  of  lesser  lights  to  show  his 
glory;  but  in  this  dark  world  Christ's  countenance  shines 
through  the  spirit  and  hfe  of  his  people.  Here  he  has 
need  of  such  witnesses. 

He  needs  vessels  to  bear  his  name  about  among  men ; 
and  for  this  purpose  he  chooses  earthen  vessels,  that  the 
power  may  be  known  to  be  his  own.  He  does  not  send 
angels  to  proclaim  his  message;  he  does  not  employ  the 
thunder  to  proclaim  his  name,  or  the  lightning  to  write 
his  character  in  the  sky.  The  life  of  his  own  disciples 
is  the  epistle  in  which  he  desires  to  be  read.  The  evi- 
dence with  which  he  will  convince  the  world  is  the  walk 
of  the  people  whom  he  has  bought  with  his  blood  and 
renewed  by  his  Spirit. 

It  is  an  honorable  but  difficult  function.  The  task 
of  a  witness  is  often  very  arduous.  The  real  strain 
comes  in  cross-examination.  Every  witness  first  emits 
his  testimony,  and  is  thereafter  cross-examined  on  both 
its  substance  and  its  details.  The  evidence  that  a 
Christian  gives  directly,  and  in  the  first  instance,  con- 
sists in  the  whole  course  of  his  profession.  He  wor- 
ships, he  prays,  he  sits  with  fellow-disciples  at  the 
table  of  the  Lord.  By  all  this  he  testifies,  and  is  well 
understood  to  testify,  that  when  he  was  lost  with  the 
world  in  sin,  Christ  the  Son  of  God  by  dying  saved 
him.  A  great  multitude  in  this  land  emit  readily  this 
evidence  in  chief;  and  in  this  department  the  majority 
acquit  themselves  well.     With  such  a  body  of  consist- 


Witnesses.  25 

ent  testimony  for  Christianit)- — a  body  flowing  ever 
on  with  the  momentum  of  a  ri\'cr,  one  might  expect 
that  all  the  obstructions  of  unbelief  would  soon  be 
broken  down  and  swept  away.  Why,  when  there  is 
so  great  a  cloud  of  witnesses,  is  the  heart  of  the  world 
not  won  ?  Much  is  due  to  the  hardness  of  that  same 
world  that  receives  the  testimony;  but  something  is 
due  also  to  the  fickleness  of  the  disciples  who  give  it. 
The  evidence  in  chief  is  easily  given,  and  is,  on  the 
whole,  given  well;  but  the  cross-examination — alas, 
many  of  the  witnesses  break  dowm  there! 

Either  or  both  of  two  persons  may,  according  to  cir- 
cumstances, conduct  the  cross-examination — the  judge 
or  the  adversary.  It  is  ordinarily  done  by  the  adver- 
sary, but  the  judge  permits  the  adversary  to  cross-ex- 
amine, and  occasionally  puts  a  question  himself.  The 
life  of  a  disciple  is  one  long  stance  in  the  witness-box, 
under  cross-examination  by  a  severe  adversar}^  who 
goes  as  far  on  every  side  as  the  law  allows  him.  You 
are  set  down  in  the  market-place — wherever  the  buy- 
ing and  selling  is  conducted.  You  have  lately  wor- 
shipped in  the  house  of  prayer,  and  devoutly  commem- 
orated the  death  of  the  Lord.  Those  who  meet  you 
in  the  market  know  this.  What  then  .''  They  may  be 
themselves  unreconciled,  unrenewed;  they  are  probably 
not  easy — not  satisfied  with  themselves — in  neglect- 
ing the  salvation  of  God.  The  presence  of  Christians 
fresh  from  their  solemnities  renews  their  misgivings 
regarding  their  own  position.  It  is  not  needful  to  re- 
peat in  the  market-place  the  same  testimony  that  was 
given  at  the  communion  table.  A  Christian,  when  he 
enters  the  market-place,  should  do  business  there — 
should  not  forthwith  begin  to  preach,  but  to  buy  and 
sell,  and  get  gain.  It  is  the  cross-examination  that 
takes  place  on  this  sphere.  It  is  not  now,  What  do 
you  believe  }  but.  Is  your  life,  both  in  great  things  and 
in  small,  consistent  with  the  profession  which  you  have 
made  .''  The  cross-examiner  generally  begins  on  some 
distant  and  apparently  indifferent  theme;  but  the  ques- 
tions are  so  linked  to  the  main  subject  that  if,  in  an- 
swering them,  anything  escapes  from  the  witness  which 
clashes  with  his  original  evidence,  his  good  confession 
is  thereby  undermined  and  destroyed.     Over-reaching 


26  TJie   ChiircJi   in   the  House. 

in  trade,  unfairness  in  a  bargain,  unkindness  to  de- 
pendents, untruth  and  evil-speal<ing,  expose  the  Chris- 
tian profession  to  scorn,  and  shear  it  of  its  power.  The 
adversary  goeth  about,  especially  at  unsuspected  turns 
of  the  Christian  life-course,  seeking  whom  he  may 
devour. 

The  sphere  of  the  witness-bearing,  hitherto  confined 
to  Israel,  is  about  to  be  enlarged.  In  the  first  instance, 
the  twelve  were  not  fit  for  a  wider  missionary  field. 
They  were  called  in,  and  were  not  yet  ready  to  be  sent 
out — that  is,  to  be  apostles.  They  must  undergo  a 
preparatory  training  at  the  feet  of  Jesus,  and  at  length 
be  baptized  with  the  Holy  Ghost.  Then  the  embargo 
will  be  taken  off:  when  they  have  served  their  appren- 
ticeship in  a  home-mission  under  the  Master's  own  eye, 
they  will  be  intrusted  with  a  commission  to  the  ends 
of  the  earth.  As  soon  as  they  have  obtained  the  crown- 
ing qualification  in  the  gift  of  the  Spirit,  he  will  loose 
them  and  let  them  go.  Forth,  then,  from  Jerusalem 
the  word  of  God  will  run  through  Judaea  and  Samaria, 
nor  halt  in  its  progress  till  it  strike  the  ends  of  the 
earth. 

In  that  age  it  spread  fast  and  far;  but  it  was  soon 
afterwards  arrested.  For  many  ages  it  made  little  prog- 
ress. The  Church  became  corrupt  at  its  centre,  and 
its  extremities  were  paralyzed;  the  root  lost  its  own 
life,  and  therefore  the  branches  could  not  spread  to 
overshadow  the  land.  More  has  been  done  during  the 
present  century  to  spread  the  word  of  the  kingdom, 
than  for  many  ages  before.  P"or  the  immediate  past 
the  Christian  community  should  thank  God;  and  for  the 
future,  though  the  horizon  which  bounds  the  view  seems 
greatly  troubled,  they  should,  notwithstanding,  take 
courage. 

Whatever  of  comfort  or  reproof  lay  in  that  word  for 
the  earliest  disciples,  belongs  also  to  ourselves.  The 
clause  in  their  commission,  "beginning  at  Jerusalem," 
applies  in  its  spirit  to  our  mission-work.  The  charity 
tliat  will  convert  the  world,  is  a  charity  that  begins  at 
home — begins  at  home,  but  does  not  end  there.  If  it 
do  not  begin  at  home,  it  will  not  convert  the  world. 
If  it  essay  to  reach  the  heathen  by  leaping  over  many 
ranks  of  unslain  enemies  to  Christ  in  our  own  hearts, 


Witnesses.  •  27 

and  many  ranks  of  unrcproved  blasphemers  of  his  name 
on  our  own  streets,  it  will  never  reach  its  distant  mark 
among  the  heathen,  or  it  will  reach  the  mark  with  a 
force  already  spent,  lacking-  power  to  penetrate  the 
armor  in  which  idolatry  is  encased. 

The  Gospel  in  a  true  disciple  is  like  a  fire:  it  burns; 
it  causes  vivid  joy;  but  it  will  not  permit  indolence. 
It  must  be  out:  but,  like  light  and  heat,  it  cannot  reach 
the  distant  circumference  without  passing  through  the 
intermediate  space,  and  kindling  all  that  it  touches  on 
its  way.  The  Colonies,  the  Continent  of  Africa,  the 
peoples  of  India,  and  the  Chinese,  are  the  legitimate 
objects  of  missionary  enterprise;  but  we  cannot  suc- 
ceed in  melting  these  icy  regions  at  a  distance,  if  our 
own  home  remain  frozen  like  the  poles.  The  laws  of 
nature  forbid  it.  Unless  our  love  be  of  such  a  kind  as 
greatly  to  disturb  a  godless  neighborhood  at  home,  it 
will  not  set  on  fire  a  distant  continent.  We  cannot 
overleap  the  vice  and  misery  and  irreligion  of  our  own 
city,  and  pitch  our  missionaries  with  power  by  ship 
into  India. 

Besides  the  more  hidden  spiritual  law,  there  is  an 
obvious  material  fact  that  will  in  these  circumstances 
prevent  success.  While  a  great  mass  of  our  home  com- 
munity remain  unchristian,  specimens  of  our  popula- 
tion, cast  up  in  foreign  lands  like  drift-wood  on  the 
ocean  shores,  will  counteract  effectually  the  efforts  of 
the  missionaries.  When  settlers  or  seamen  from  this 
country,  partakers  of  our  name  and  our  civilization, 
partakers  too  of  our  Christian  profession,  appear  among 
the  heathen,  and  act  as  the  heathen  do,  the  way  of 
the  Gospel  is  obstructed;  the  work  stands  still,  or  goes 
backward.  A  ship  heaves  in  sight  in  a  bay  on  the  coast 
of  Africa,  where  Christian  missionaries  have  long  la- 
bored among  the  rude  natives.  The  ship  hoists  British 
colors,  and  the  men  speak  our  language,  and  claim  kin- 
dred with  the  missionaries.  When  they  open  the  hatches 
of  their  ship,  it  is  found  that  the  cargo  consists  of  rum 
for  barter  with  the  natives.  It  is  found  on  trial  that, 
besides  the  mischief  which  rum  is  fitted  in  its  own 
nature  to  inflict  on  an  vmcivilized  tribe,  the  article  is 
so  grossly  adulterated  that  it  produces  a  wide-spread 
sickness,  and  endangers  life.    The  discovered  cheat  re- 


28  The   Church   in  the  House. 

acts,  in  the  minds  of  simple  savages,  against  the  mis- 
sionaries and  their  message. 

It  would  be  a  great  mistake  to  abstain  from  foreign 
work  till  the  home  field  be  completely  brought  under 
c-ulture:  this  counsel  is  sometimes  given  to  missionaries 
by  men  who  are  not  Christians  at  all.  We  must  not 
fall  into  that  trap.  Some  at  home  harden  their  hearts 
against  the  Gospel,  and  some  abroad  are  predisposed 
to  receive  it.  We  must  hasten  to  go  out  to  the  utter- 
most parts  of  the  earth  with  our  message;  but  we  must 
let  the  men  who  are  beside  us  feel  the  glow  of  our  zeal 
as  it  passes  by.  The  command  of  the  Lord  is  still  the 
rule  for  his  people, — Beginning  at  Jerusalem,  but  not 
ending  till  we  reach  the  uttermost  part  of  the  earth. 

These  words,  constituting  the  disciples  his  witnesses 
in  the  world,  were  his  last  words;  for  when  he  had 
spoken  them  he  was  taken  up.  This  command,  there- 
fore, every  Christian  should  regard  with  especial  ven- 
eration and  tenderness.  At  his  departure  he  left  his 
Church  in  the  world, — left  it  a  legacy  to  the  world, 
that  it  might  in  all  times  be  a  living  epistle  of  himself. 
Promoted  to  such  an  honor,  and  charged  with  such  a 
function,  what  manner  of  persons  ought  we  to  be  .-' 


IV. 

THE  ASCENSION. 

"  And  he  led  them  out  as  far  as  to  Bethany,  and  he  lifted  tip  his  hands, 
and  blessed  them.  And  it  came  to  pass,  while  he  blessed  them,  he  7uas 
parted  from  them,  and  carried  up  into  heaven.  And  they  luors  hipped  him, 
and  returned  to  Jerusalem  with  great  joy .''''  ■ — Luke  xxiv.  50-52. 

The  Gospel  according  to  Luke  and  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles  are  the  two  books  of  one  continuous  history, 
by  the  same  author.  The  first  book  contains  the  per- 
sonal ministry  of  our  Lord;  and  the  second  gives  sketches 
of  the  great  mission  work  conducted  by  the  apostles,  un- 
der the  ministry  of  the  Spirit,  after  their  Head  had  with- 
drawn from  their  view.  The  ascension  of  the  Lord  Je- 
sus is  the  point  of  contact  between  the  two  books;  and, 


The  Ascension.  29 

as  is  natural  in  such  cases,  they  overlap  each  other  a 
little  there.  From  the  end  of  the  Gospel  we  gather 
some  features  of  the  ascension  which  are  not  repeated 
in  the  Acts.  There  we  learn  in  succession  how  the  as- 
cending Lord  regarded  his  disciples,  and  how  the  dis- 
ciples regarded  the  ascending  Lord. 

\.  How  the  Lord  regarded  his  disciples  when  he  was 
in  the  act  of  leaving  them. 

Look  unto  Jesus  at  the  moment  of  his  departure.  If 
we  acquaint  ourselves  with  him  as  he  goes  away,  we 
shall  be  prepared  to  welcome  him  when  he  returns. 
As  he  has  gone,  so  will  he  come  again;  with  this  differ- 
ence, that  at  his  second  coming  every  eye  shall  see 
him. 

1.  The  place:  "  He  led  them  out  as  far  as  to  Beth-' 
any."  It  was  the  village  on  the  further  side  of  Olivet, 
where  Lazarus  and  his  sisters  dwelt.  The  heart  of  the 
man  Christ  Jesus  was  not  indifferent  to  the  associations 
connected  with  the  spot.  There  he  had  often  rested 
when  he  was  weary.  There  he  had  proclaimed  and 
proved  himself  the  Resurrection  and  the  Life.  Perhaps 
it  was  at  Bethany  that  the  eleven  could  best  bear  to 
let  him  go  out  of  their  sight.  "  He  that  believeth  on 
me,  though  he  were  dead,  yet  shall  he  live."  There  hu- 
man love  clothed  itself  with  omnipotence,  and  recalled  a 
brother  from  the  grave.  If  the  disciples,  in  their  weak- 
ness, could  anywhere  endure  to  look  the  last  time  in 
this  world  on  their  Lord,  it  was  on  the  spot  where  their 
friend  Lazarus  was  loosed  and  let  go.  Places  have 
power  on  human  hearts.  He  who  knows  our  frame 
acknowledges  this  principle,  and  uses  it.  Some  spots 
of  this  dull  Earth  are  consecrated  by  bright,  blessed 
memories,  which,  when  occasionally  revived,  refresh  a 
weary  soul.  Do  not  be  superstitiously  subject  to  places ; 
but,  on  the  other  hand,  beware  of  despising  them;  for 
though  they  cannot  save,  they  may  serve.  "  All  things 
are  yours." 

2.  The  parting  act:  "He  lifted  up  his  hands,  and 
blessed  them."  Those  hands  were  never  lifted  up  to 
smite;  those  lips  blessed,  and  cursed  not.  Let  those 
who  bear  his  name  strive  to  follow  his  steps.  Let  our 
hands,  our  lips,  be  like  his.  Jesus  is  the  revelation  of 
God — is   God   revealed.     Not    by  his  words  only,  but 


30  The   CJutrch   in   tJie  Iloitsc. 

also  by  his  life,  he  showed  us  the  Father.  Off  that 
blessed  life  we  may  read  while  we  run  the  legend, — • 
"  God  is  love." 

Bear  in  mind  that  Christ  is  God's  visit  to  the  world. 
From  first  to  last  that  visit  was  love.  His  appearing 
was  gentle  as  a  summer's  dawn.  He  was  born  a  babe, 
wrapped  in  swaddling  clothes,  and  laid  in  a  manger. 
Such  was  the  step  by  which  a  holy  God  approached 
our  world  when  it  rebelled  against  him.  Angels  sang 
the  advent  as  peace  on  earth  and  good-will  to  men. 
The  key-note  struck  at  his  birth  was  maintained 
throughout  his  history;  and  you  catch  its  cadence  in 
his  dying  agony,  when  he  prayed,  "  Father,  forgive 
them."  In  the  moment  of  his  ascension  you  recog- 
nize still  the  Lamb  of  God:  "  He  lifted  up  his  hands, 
and  blessed  them." 

In  the  last  glimpse  we  get  of  Jesus,  as  he  leaves 
the  world,  he  appears  lifting  up  his  hands  to  bless. 
He  disappears  in  the  act  of  giving;  Mary,  on  the  con- 
trary, disappears  from  our  view  in  the  act  of  receiving. 
He,  at  his  departure,  as  becomes  the  Saviour  of  sin- 
ners, gives  to  the  needy  out  of  his  own  fulness;  she  at 
her  departure,  as  becomes  a  sinner  saved,  is  opening 
her  mouth  wide,  that  she  may  receive  from  her  Re- 
deemer's grace.  He  lifts  up  his  hands  to  bless;  she 
bends  her  knees  to  pray  (Acts  i.  14).  Even  so;  for 
there  is  but  one  Mediator  between  God  and  man. 

3.  His  departure.  He  went  to  heaven  as  he  came 
to  earth — for  his  people's  good.  "  It  is  expedient  for 
you  that  I  go  away."  We  need  an  advocate  with  the 
Father;  and  we  have  one,  Jesus  Christ  the  righteous. 
We  need  an  anchor  of  the  soul  while  we  are  exposed 
on  the  stormy  sea;  and  we  have  one,  for  our  Forerun- 
ner has,  on  our  account,  gone  before  us  within  the  veil. 

But  though  he  went  out  of  their  sight,  he  did  not 
go  far  from  them.     He  has  left  the  promise,  "  Lo,  I  am  , 
with  you  alway."     Leaning  on  his  arm,  they  look  for 
his  appearing. 

II.   How  the  disciples  regarded  their  ascending  Lord. 

I.  "  They  worshipped  him."  This  is  a  great  word. 
This  is  a  great  step  in  the  path  of  those  who  followed 
Christ,  and  the  print  of  it  is  full  of  meaning  for  us  to- 


The  Ascension.  31 

day.  It  is  worship:  it  is  the  homage  of  a  human  heart, 
which  is  due  to  God  alone.  "  See  thou  do  it  not,"  is 
the  angel's  stern  command,  as  soon  as  a  man  proposes 
by  mistake  to  offer  worship  to  any  created  being. 

Man  is  made  for  worshipping.  This  is  shown  by 
the  two  facts:  that  he  has  been  made,  and  that  he 
has  been  made  so  great.  The  beasts  that  perish  have, 
like  him,  been  formed  by  the  Creator's  hand;  but  they 
have  not  the  faculties  necessary  for  recognizing  their 
Maker.  We,  as  much  as  they,  are  the  work  of  God's 
hand,  but,  unlike  them,  we  possess  intelligence  to  ob- 
serve and  own  the  hand  that  made  us.  By  the  double 
fact  that  we  are  high  enough  to  know  God,  and  not 
high  enough  to  be  God,  we  are  constrained  to  worship. 
Man  is  constitutionally  a  religious  being.  In  his  heart 
there  lies  a  capacity  for  worship,  and  a  tendency  to 
exercise  it.  But  while  there  is  something  allied  to  an 
instinct  within  us  prompting  to  worship,  a  darkened 
mind  and  a  defiled  conscience  continually  turn  the 
stream  aside  from  its  proper  channel  and  pollute  all 
its  volume.  It  is  human  to  worship;  but  no  human 
being  since  the  Fall,  when  left  to  himself,  worships 
aright. 

Error,  which  apart  from  Revelation  and  the  minis- 
try of  the  Spirit  is  universal,  parts  practically  into  two, 
and  flows  in  diverging  channels.  Worship  is  directed 
either  to  the  true  God,  and  in  that  case  is  dead;  or  to 
an  idol,  and  in  that  case  it  can  afford  to  have  a  species 
of  life.  Man  finds  it  easy  to  offer  ardent  worship  to  a 
creature,  but  impossible,  without  the  intervention  of  a 
Mediator,  to  give  real  worship  to  the  living  God. 
Hence  idolatry  is  frequently  earnest;  while  the  worship 
of  Jehovah,  apart  from  the  knowledge  of  him  in  Christ, 
is  a  form. 

The  gulf  was  bridged  for  man  by  the  incarnation  of 
the  Son  of  God.  Here  men  v/orship  a  Man,  and  yet 
there  is  no  idolatry.  In  Emmanuel  a  human  heart 
may  dissolve  in  Divine  homage  to  a  brother  of  our 
own  flesh  and  blood,  and  yet  not  be  defiled  by  spirit- 
ual unchasteness.  Here  man  worships  a  Man,  and  3-et 
preserves  purity  of  spirit.  Only  in  Christ  can  he  find 
an  object  whom  he  can  worship  without  fear,  and  yet 
worship  without  sin.     God  has  bowed  his  heavens  and 


32  TJw   C/turch   in   the  House. 

come  down.  He  has  taken  hold  of  our  nature:  we, 
when  we  feel  his  touch,  awake  and  worship — worship 
him  that  touched  us,  and  yet  worship  only  God. 

2.  "I'hey  returned  to  Jerusalem."  This  was  a  great 
point  gained.  The  master  did  not  miscalculate  the 
strength  of  the  love  to  himself  which  he  had  kindled 
in  the  breasts  of  those  poor  men.  It  was  difficult  for 
them  to  take  the  first  step.  It  required  the  ministry 
of  angels  to  tear  them  from  the  spot.  "  Ye  men 
of  Galilee,  why  stand  ye  gazing  up  into  heaven  .'' " 
(Acts  i.  II.)  Ah,  ye  angels  that  excel  in  strength, 
something  that  ye  know  not  of  rivets  these  men  to 
the  spot.  These  ministering  spirits  asking  the  disci- 
ples why  they  stood  gazing  after  the  risen  Lord,  are 
like  persons  who  never  knew  a  mother's  joys  or  sor- 
rows expressing  surprise  to  see  a  mother  melting  away 
with  grief  when  her  babe  is  dead.  He  took  not  on 
him  the  nature  of  angels;  but  in  the  own  nature  of 
these  Galileans  the  Lord  of  Glory  had  kept  them  com- 
pany, and  won  their  hearts  and  redeemed  their  souls. 
Therefore  they  stood  and  gazed  toward  heaven  at  the 
spot  where  he  ascended. 

Their  spiritual  life  hitherto  had  depended  on  the 
presence  of  the  Lord,  as  an  infant's  life  depends  di- 
rectly on  its  mother.  They  were  children,  and  at  that 
moment  children  weaned.  The  branches  seemed  brok- 
en from  the  tree,  and  they  thought  they  must  droop 
and  die.  But  he  who  made  them  new  creatures  had 
so  constituted  their  spiritual  life  that  it  could  survive 
the  weaning  and  grow  stronger  thereby.  "  Greater 
things  than  these  shall  ye  do,  because  I  go  to  my 
Father."  His  departure  was  necessary  for  their  devel- 
opment into  the  stature  of  perfect  men. 

They  were  not  disobedient  to  the  heavenly  vision. 
They  did  not,  on  the  one  hand,  continue  gazing  from 
the  mountain  up  to  heaven,  in  a  fervent  but  unpracti- 
cal devotion;  neither,  on  the  other  hand,  did  they  re- 
turn to  Galilee  to  their  farms  and  their  fishings.  They 
did  not  demand  the  return  of  their  Lord,  neither  did 
they  desert  his  cause  when  they  were  deprived  of  his 
presence.  They  returned  to  Jerusalem.  This  simple 
act,  in  their  circumstances,  proved  two  things:  first, 
their  firm  conviction  that  the  promised  Spirit  would 


TJie  Ascension.  33 

come;  and  second,  their  settled  determination  to  ac- 
cept the  task  of  converting-  the  world.  They  came 
into  the  city  to  wait  for  the  Spirit;  but  they  waited 
for  the  Spirit  in  order  that  they  might  go  forth  in  his 
power  to  win  the  nations  to  Christ. 

There  was  much  in  this  act.  When  those  poor  and 
afflicted  men  went  back  to  the  city  where  their  Master's 
blood  had  been  shed,  it  was  at  the  risk  of  spilling  also 
their  own.  If  they  had  not  been  sustained  by  a  super- 
human courage,  Jerusalem  would  have  been  the  last 
place  to  which  they  should  have  turned  their  steps.  It 
was  the  power  of  their  unseen  Lord  that  nerved  their 
hearts,  as  they  made  their  way  down  the  western  slopes 
of  the  mountain  and  entered  Jerusalem  as  the  followers 
of  Jesus  the  crucified  Nazarene. 

3.  Theyreturned  with  great  joy.  What  have  we  here. ^ 
Great  joy  !  How  comes  this }  As  well  might  you  ex- 
pect a  flame  to  burst  from  yonder  altar  after  the  piled 
wood  has  been  soaked  and  the  ditch  round  its  base  filled 
with  water.  But  a  fire  from  heaven,  at  Elijah's  cry,  made 
the  dripping  fuel  burn;  and  light  from  the  love  of  God 
kindled  these  men's  hearts  and  made  their  faces  shine 
in  spite  of  the  sea  of  troubles  that  surrounded  them. 

They  had  witnessed  the  rage  of  the  Jews  against  their 
IMaster,  and  they  had  been  distinctly  warned  that  a  sim- 
ilar persecution  would  overtake  those  who  should  dare 
to  witness  to  his  name  and  cause.  In  Jerusalem  no 
comfort  awaited  them.  Among  its  multitudes  they  had 
no  friends  except  a  few  timid  men,  who  dared  not  face 
the  danger;  and  a  few  faithful  women,  who  were  weeping 
themselves  away  in  some  obscure  hiding-places.  Jeru- 
salem contained  the  Roman  governor  and  his  soldiers; 
the  Sanhedrim  and  the  mob;  the  multitude  that  heaved 
and  stormed  like  the  sea,  until  its  cruel  appetite  was 
appeased  by  the  blood  of  Jesus.  O  Jerusalem,  Jerusalem, 
thou  that  killest  the  prophets,  and  stonest  them  that  are 
sent  unto  thee,  there  was  nothing  in  thee  to  make  these 
men  of  Galilee  glad  when  they  returned  from  Bethany 
without  their  Lord. 

They  arc  not  permitted  to  enter  rest  with  their  Lord, 
but  they  are  sent  to  work  for  him;  and  this  made  them 
glad.  They  worshipped  him;  and  now  they  go  from 
worship  down  to  work:  from  the  work  they  will,  in  due 


34  ^/'^   C/inrch   in   the  House. 

time,  return  again  to  worship.  Thus,  between  these  two, 
the  pendulum  of  their  life  will  vibrate,  until  its  last  hour 
strike;  and  then  the  laborer,  at  a  bound,  will  enter  his 
eternal  rest. 

Thus,  a  Christian  who  lives  up  to  his  privilege  leads 
a  sort  of  charmed  life.  Nothing  can  come  wrong.  To 
depart  is  to  be  luit/i  Christ ;  to  remain  is  to  work/cr  Christ : 
and  both  are  joyful. 


V. 

WAITING  AND  PRAYING. 

"  And  when  he  had  spoken  these  things,  while  they  beheld,  he  was  taken 
tip;  and  a  cloud  received  him  out  of  their  sight.  A7id  while  they  looked 
steadfastly  toward  heaveti  as  he  went  tip,  behold,  two  men  stood  by  them 
in  white  apparel;  zahich  also  said,  Ye  men  of  Galilee,  why  stand  ye  gazing 
tip  into  heaven  ?  this  same  Jesus,  which  is  taken  tip  from  you  into  heaven, 
shall  so  come  in  like  viaiiner  as  ye  have  seen  him  go  into  heaven.  Then 
returned  they  unto  yerusalem  from  the  mount  called  Olivet,  which  is  from 
Jerusalem  a  sabbath  day'' s  journey .  Aitdivhen  they  were  come  in,  they  went 
up  into  an  upper  room,  cohere  abode  both  Peter,  and  fames,  and  John,  and 
Andrctu,  Philip,  and  Thomas,  Bartholomezu,  and  IMatthew,  fames  the  son 
of  Alphccus,  and  Simon  Zelotes,  and  Judas  the  /irother  of  James.  These 
all  continued  with  one  accord  in  prayer  and  supplication,  with  the  women, 
and  Alary  the  mother  of  Jesus,  and  with  his  brethren.'" — Acts  I.  9-14. 

"  And  when  he  had  spoken  these  things."  These 
words !  They  were  the  last  and  yet  not  the  last. 
The  last  in  the  ministry  of  his  visible  presence;  but 
he  will  continue  to  teach  them  still.  His  word  liveth 
and  abideth  for  ever.  He  will  make  good  his  promise, 
"Lo,  I  am  with  you  alway." 

We  linger  on  the  last  words:  "  It  is  not  for  you  to 
know  the  times  or  the  seasons."  Himself  knows  them, 
and,  knowing  them,  knows  that  it  was  not  expedient, 
to  impart  these  deep  things  of  God  to  men.  But  in 
the  act  of  intimating  that  the  date  of  the  event  must 
remain  concealed,  he  clearly  declares  that  the  event 
itself  is  sure, — the  establishment  of  the  kingdom  in 
Israel — the  univ^ersal  reign  of  the  Son  of  David.  The 
event  is  sure,  and  the  date  also  is  fixed;  but  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  date  cannot  be  revealed.  For  their  sakes 
it  is  concealed;  for  manifestly  the  absolute  declaration 


]\\n'ti)ig  and  P raying.  35 

of  the  date  would  thwart  and  hinder  the  establishment 
of  the  kint^dom.  It  would  have  closed  the  lips  of  sup- 
pliants, and  paral)'zed  the  hands  of  those  who  should 
be  fellow-workers  with  God. 

When  the  Lord  declines  to  declare  the  date  of  the 
expected  consummation,  he  gives  them  another  thing 
instead.  He  gives  them  what  he  counts  better.  Some- 
thing which  they  asked  zvas  not  for  them,  and  therefore 
it  was  withheld;  something  which  they  did  not  ask  luas 
for  tlicui,  and  therefore  it  was  bestowed.  It  is  thus 
that  we  treat  our  children  day  by  day. 

He  never  gives  his  disciples  a  blank  refusal.  When 
he  declines  one  thing,  he  bestows  a  better.  That  which 
he  bestowed  in  this  case  was  the  combined  promise  and 
command  of  the  eighth  verse:  "It  is  not  for  you  to  know 
the  times  or  the  seasons;  but  ye  shall  receive  power 
after  that  the  Holy  Ghost  is  come  upon  you,  and  ye 
shall  be  witnesses  unto  me,"  etc.  Instead  of  permit- 
ting them  to  occupy  their  minds  w^ith  an  unknown 
future,  he  sends  them  into  present  work.  Instead  of 
telling  them  when  the  kingdom  will  come,  he  assigns 
to  them  the  work  of  bringing  in  the  kingdom.  It  is 
by  their  witnessing  that  the  nations  will  be  made  sub- 
ject to  Christ.  "  The  God  of  peace  shall  bruise  Satan 
under  your  feet  shortly;"  but  you  must  arise  and  con- 
tend; you  must  cast  down  the  old  serpent,  and  stamp 
upon  his  prostrate  folds. 

"  And  while  they  looked  steadfastly  toward  heaven 
as  he  went  up,  behold,  two  men  stood  by  them."  Who- 
ever the  messengers  may  have  been,  the  message  which 
they  bear  is  clear:  "This  same  Jesus,  which  is  taken 
up  from  you  into  heaven,  shall  so  come  in  like  manner 
as  ye  have  seen  him  go  into  heaven."  The  interval 
must  be  occupied,  not  in  pensive,  fond  upward  gazing, 
but  in  hearty,  earnest  work.  He  will  come  again;  but 
times  and  seasons  which  man  cannot  number  will  in- 
tervene. These  are  times  of  witnessing  for  all  the  dis- 
ciples of  Christ.  They  must  receive  the  Spirit;  they 
must  be  witnesses  for  Christ;  they  must  begin  at  Je- 
rusalem; they  must  reach  the  ends  of  the  earth.  After 
that  shall  the  end  be.  The  time  seems  long;  and  yet 
it  is  approaching  quickly.  That  fixed  star  seems  fixed 
indeed  to  our  eyes;  there  it  has  stood  in  the  deep  of 


36  Tlic   CJiurch   in   the  Hotise. 

heaven,  and  glittered  down  on  the  upturned  eyes  of 
longing  disciples  these  eighteen  hundred  years — the 
bright  promise  of  his  coming;  but  though  it  seems  to 
stand  still,  it  is  moving;  it  is  approaching.  Be  of  good 
cheer,  disciples,  your  Redemption  is  nearer  than  when 
those  Galileans  first  left  their  nets  to  follow  Jesus.  The 
fixed  star  is  not  fixed — it  is  rushing  through  space  to 
its  goal,  although  its  movements  cannot  be  detected 
by  our  instruments.  The  kingdom  is  coming,  although 
it  is  beyond  the  power  of  our  calculus  to  predict  the 
time  of  its  arrival.  Its  sudden  appearing  will  surprise 
and  gladden  the  waiting  Simeons  and  Annas  cf  that 
day. 

This  Earth  is  a  small  body;  it  is  like  a  grain  of  sand 
on  the  shore  of  Immensity — a  Bethlehem-ephratah 
among  the  worlds  which  constitute  God's  universe:  yet 
the  Earth  is,  and  ever  will  be,  the  most  valued  of  all 
his  works,  because  into  it  has  come  and  from  it  has  as- 
cended the  Divine  Redeemer,  in  Avhom  all  things  shall 
yet  be  gathered  into  one.  Here  he  passed  through  his 
humiliation,  and  here  will  his  glory  be  displayed. 

When  the  disciples  reached  the  city,  they  betook 
themselves  to  a  large  upper  room — some  hall,  either 
hired  for  the  purpose  or  gratuitously  placed  at  their 
disposal  by  some  believer,  such  as  Joseph  of  Arima- 
thea,  who  owned  property  and  loved  the  Lord.  From 
the  beginning  the  Lord  needed  men  of  property,  and 
from  the  beginning  he  provided  them.  To  the  poor 
the  Gospel  was  preached;  but  at  the  same  time  the 
love  of  Christ  constrained  some  of  the  rich  to  minister 
unto  him  of  their  substance  whatever  material  means 
were  necessary  for  the  work. 

As  they  enter  the  upper  room  the  names  of  all  the 
Eleven  are  taken  down  and  transmitted  by  the  record 
to  the  latest  generation.  Peter  is  restored,  and  his 
backsliding  healed;  Thomas  is  confirmed,  and  believes, 
although  he  no  longer  sees.  We  have  here  what  in 
modern  phraseology  would  be  termed  the  minutes  and 
sederunt  of  the  first  missionary  meeting.  With  the 
apostles  other  believ^ers,  men  and  women,  assembled, 
until  the  company  in  the  upper  room  numbered  about 
a  hundred  and  twenty. 

Here  is  the  first  assembly  of  the  Christian  Church 


]]'a!ti>ig  and  Praying.  37 

after  the  ascension  of  the  Lord.  This  is  the  well's  e)-c 
near  the  summit  of  the  mountain,  and  the  tiny  rill 
that  trickled  over  its  brim  that  day  has  grown  into  a 
mighty  river  now.  Down  through  the  generations  the 
stream  has  flowed  without  ceasing;  and  at  this  day, 
although  many  things  impede  its  progress,  the  Chris- 
tian Church  is  the  greatest  power  in  the  world.  How 
great  the  numbers  that  go  up  to  the  house  of  God  to 
worship  in  the  name  of  the  one  Mediator  !  From  a 
very  small  mustard  seed  a  mighty  tree  has  grown. 

In  that  upper  room  were  all  the  elements  that  go 
to  constitute  "  the  Church."  The  first  assembly  was 
the  germ  of  all  that  followed.  United  worship  is  a 
Divine  ordinance.  Not  only  is  it  in  accordance  with  the 
revealed  will  of  God,  it  is  manifestly  suited  to  the  need 
and  the  capacity  of  men.  It  is  true  that  the  spiritual 
life  depends  primarily  on  the  individual;  but  it  is  also 
true  that  for  spiritual  growth  and  health  we  are  in- 
strumentally  dependent  on  association  with  fellow- 
Christians. 

Our  soul's  state  is  much  affected,  either  for  good  or 
evil,  by  the  company  of  our  kind.  A  human  being  has 
a  separate  personal  identity,  and  also  social  relations 
with  his  neighbors.  Some  of  our  actions  are  solitary, 
and  terminate  on  ourselves,  such  as  breathing,  think- 
ing; others  are  necessarily  social,  and  presuppose  so- 
ciety, such  as  speaking,  hearing,  loving.  If  a  man 
were  entirely  separated  from  his  kind,  he  would  no 
longer  be  what  he  is — would  soon  cease  to  be.  Half 
of  his  faculties  would  lie  dormant  for  want  of  exercise; 
and  lying  long  dormant,  they  would  die;  and  the  death 
of  one  half  of  his  faculties  would  soon  take  the  life  out 
of  all  the  rest. 

Thus  necessary  is  society  for  man.  God  has  not  neg- 
lected this  feature  of  the  human  constitution  in  the 
structure  of  his  covenant  and  the  organization  of  the 
Church.  Our  individual  relation  to  God  is  the  first 
thing:  Simon,  son  of  Jonas,  lovest  thou  me  t — thou  me. 
But  when  this  first  commandment  of  the  Gospel  has 
been  enforced,  the  second,  which  is  like  unto  it,  is  not 
neglected.  None  can  save  his  brother:  everyone  must 
enter  into  relation  with  God  for  himself;  but  every  man 
both  gets  and  gives  in  intercourse  with  society.     Every 


38  TJie   Church   in   the  House. 

disciple  helps  or  hinders  his  fellow-disciple.  In  all 
earnest  times  they  that  fear  the  Lord  speak  often  one 
to  another;  and  the  Lord  hearkens  and  hears  when 
any  company,  great  or  small,  agree  to  seek  him  together. 
There  was  perseverance  in  the  prayer  of  the  primi- 
tive Church — "  they  continued."  There  was  unity  in 
those  early  prayer-meetings — they  prayed  "  with  one 
accord."  The  prayers  were  not  soon  broken  off,  and 
were  not  hindered  by  disagreements  among  the  sup- 
pliants. They  ascended  straight  to  heaven  in  a  pillar 
of  pure  incense,  and  descended  soon  in  showers  of  bless- 
ing— a  great  refreshing  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord. 


VL 

THE   SPIRIT  AT  PENTECOST. 

^^  And  when  the  day  of  Pentecost  7vas  fully  come,  they  were  all  with  one 
accord  in  one  place.  And  suddenly  there  came  a  sound  from  heaven  as  of 
a  rushing  mighty  7oind,  and  it  filled  all  the  house  where  they  were  sitting. 
And  there  appeared  unto  them  cloven  tongues  like  as  of  fire,  and  it  sat  upon 
iach  of  them.  And  they  were  all  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  began  to 
speak  with  other  tongues,  as  the  Spirit  gave  them  utterance .'^ -rh.Ci'a  li.  1-4. 

The  only  event  recorded  in  the  interval  of  ten  days 
between  the  ascension  of  Christ  and  the  mission  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  is  the  election  of  an  apostle  in  the  room  of 
Judas,  which  occupies  the  latter  half  of  the  first  chap- 
ter. The  disciples  waited  at  Jerusalem  for  the  promise, 
and  the  promise  was  in  due  time  fulfilled — "  When  the 
day  of  Pentecost  was  fully  come,  they  were  all  with  one 
accord  in  one  place."  They  waited  for  the  Spirit  as 
those  who  wait  for  the  morning;  as  eager  for  its  com- 
ing, and  as  sure  that  it  will  come  at  the  set  time.  Al- 
though they  were  sure  of  the  event,  they  did  not  relax 
in  the  use  of  the  means  to  procure  it.  Persevering 
prayer  and  oneness  of  heart,  were  the  forces  by  which 
they  drew  the  blessing  down. 

At  the  feast  of  the  Passover,  the  lamb  was  slain;  at 
the  feast  of  Pentecost,  the  law  was  given.  Coincident 
with  the  slaying  of  the  lamb  was  the  death  of  Christ; 
coincident  with  the  e^iving  of  the  law  was  the  descent 


The   Spirit  at  Pentecost.  39 

of  the  Spirit.  The  long-continued,  oft-repeated  proph- 
ecy was  at  length  fulfilled.  Passovers  and  Pentecosts 
may  now  cease.  Like  the  seed  cast  into  the  ground, 
they  perish  in  the  act  of  producing.  As  the  sacrifice 
of  Christ  was  the  substantial  fruit  from  the  typical  prom- 
ise of  the  Passover,  so  the  descent  of  the  Spirit  was  the 
real  and  effective  giving  of  the  law  to  men.  On  the 
first  Pentecost  the  law  was  written  on  tables  of  stone; 
on  the  last  Pentecost  came  the  Spirit,  whose  office  it 
is  to  write  that  law  on  the  living  tables  of  the  heart. 

"Suddenly  there  came  a  sound  from  heaven,  as  of 
a  rushing  mighty  wind."  Not  a  rushing  mighty  wind, 
but  a  sound  that  seemed  like  it.  It  pleased  the  Lord 
to  manifest  the  descent  of  the  Spirit  by  signs  that  ap- 
peal to  the  senses,  that  by  the  mouth  of  two  witnesses 
the  fact  might  be  confirmed; — the  sense  of  hearing, 
this  sound;  the  sense  of  sight,  the  tongues  of  fire. 
The  fire  was  like  cloven  tongues — that  is,  it  was  dis- 
tributed so  that  a  tongue  touched  each,  licking  his 
head  like  a  flame.  The  tongue  was  not  of  fire,  but 
"like  as  of  fire;"  there  was  the  brightness,  but  not 
the  burning.  The  tongues  indicated  speech,  and  the 
fire  promised  that  the  words  spoken  to  spread  the  Gos- 
pel would  be  burning  words. 

At  an  earlier  period  the  Pharisees,  tempting  him, 
asked  a  sign  from  heaven.  He  refused;  he  would  not 
give  a  sign  to  satisfy  the  curiosity  of  unbelievers.  But 
when  his  own  disciples  are  sad,  he  gives  them,  without 
being  asked  for  it,  a  sign  from  heaven  to  cheer  them; 
to  prove  that  he  is  there,  and  that  all  power  is  in  his 
hands.  When  Joseph  sent  the  royal  chariots  from 
Egypt  to  bring  his  famishing  father  into  a  land  of 
plenty,  the  sight  of  the  vehicles — with  perhaps  the 
royal  arms  emblazoned  on  their  sides,  according  to 
the  fashion  of  Egyptian  art — restored  Jacob's  fainting 
heart,  convincing  him  that  his  son  was  alive,  and  pos- 
sessed of  kingly  power  (Gen.  xlv.  26-28).  In  some 
such  manner  this  sign  from  heaven  was  fitted  to  con- 
firm in  the  trembling  hearts  of  those  primitive  disciples 
the  struggling  conviction  of  their  faith,  that  Jesus  their 
elder  brother  lived,  and  reigned,  and  remembered 
them  with  all  his  wonted  love. 

"And  they  were  all  filled  with  the    Holy  Ghost." 


40  TJie   Church   in   the  House. 

Hitherto  communications  of  the  Spirit  liad  been  made 
in  smaller  measure,  as  foretastes  of  the  promised  bless- 
ing. Man,  by  the  Fall,  lost  communion  with  God.  He 
became  flesh,  not  only  in  the  sense  of  being  human, 
but  in  the  sense  of  being  destitute  of  the  Spirit,  with- 
out God  in  the  world. 

Through  the  covenant  by  which  Christ  undertook 
redemption,  glimpses  of  the  Spirit  were  vouchsafed  in 
the  earlier  times,  so  that  the  world  was  not  left  in 
complete  darkness.  The  Spirit  of  God  did  strive  with 
man  in  the  evil  days  both  before  and  after  the  Flood; 
but  it  was  only  when  the  Word  became  flesh  and  dwelt 
among  us  that  the  Spirit  in  fulness  returned  to  the 
earth.  In  the  second  Adam  the  Spirit  dwelt  without 
measure.  He  had  no  sin,  and  when  he  became  flesh 
the  Spirit  was  restored  to  humanity.  When  he  as- 
cended up  on  high  he  retained  a  connection  with  his 
disciples  on  earth  through  their  faith;  and  by  that 
thread  the  Divine  Spirit  thrilled  down  from  the  Head 
into  the  members. 

"They  were  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost."  The 
vessels  were  prepared  and  gathered  together.  The 
long-cherished  expectations  and  the  long-continued 
prayers  were  all  brought  to  a  point  when  the  day  of 
Pentecost  was  fully  come.  To  that  point  drawn,  the 
Spirit  came,  and  all  the  vessels  were  filled  to  overflow- 
ing. 

Then  was  the  disaster  of  the  Fall  remedied.  First- 
fruits  the  Church  had  previously  obtained,  but  now 
came  the  full  harvest. 


VH. 

THE    TONGUES  OF  FIRE. 

"  And  they  were  all  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  !>egai!  to  sfieak  with 
other  tongues,  as  the  Spirit  gave  theni  utterance.''^ — Acts  II.  4. 

"  TllEY  began  to  speak  with  other  tongues;"'  that  is, 
in  other  languages  than  their  own;  especially  in  the 
languages  of  the  various  nationalities  enumerated  below. 


The    Tongues    of  Fire.  41 

This  is  not  a  miraculous  s^ift  bestowed  on  the  mission- 
aries, and  to  be  used  in  their  ministry  so  as  to  super- 
sede the  use  of  ordinary  means.  There  is  no  trace  of 
such  a  gift  in  the  Scriptures  of  a  later  date;  and  no 
trace  of  it  in  the  subsequent  history  of  the  Church. 
It  would  have  been  unlike  the  way  of  the  Lord — against 
the  analogy  of  Providence.  It  was  a  sign  graciously 
given  on  that  day  to  confirm  the  faith  of  the  disciples 
at  the  crisis  of  their  need;  not  a  convenience  to  render 
exertion  unnecessary.  In  like  manner,  the  Lord,  in 
a  crisis  of  his  personal  ministry,  fed  a  famishing  multi- 
tude with  a  few  loaves.  This  was  done  for  a  sign,  that 
they  might  believe.  But  he  did  not  interfere  with  the 
ordinary  course  of  Providence;  he  did  not  free  men 
from  the  necessity  of  tilling  and  sowing  the  ground. 
"  As  the  Spirit  gave  them  utterance."  Their  hearts 
were  filled  with  the  great  things  of  the  kingdom,  and 
they  labored  to  pour  them  forth  as  glory  to  God.  The 
Spirit  given  to  them  infused  the  thoughts,  and  framed 
the  thoughts  into  words;  so  that  the  emotions  and 
sentiments  that  filled  the  hearts  of  these  Galilean  fish- 
ermen were  poured  out  in  the  tongues  of  Greece  and 
Rome,  of  Persia  and  Africa.  Thus  the  men,  whether 
of  the  stock  of  Israel  or  proselytes  from  the  Gentiles, 
who  had  from  various  countries  come  up  to  Jerusalem 
to  worship  at  the  feast,  heard  in  their  own  languages 
the  wonderful  works  of  God — heard  and  believed — be- 
lieved and  carried  to  their  homes,  and  in  their  homes 
repeated;  so  that  the  Gospel  spread  in  the  first  age 
farther  and  faster  through  the  world  than  in  the  ordi- 
nary course  of  even  apostolic  ministry.  These  foreign 
Avorshippers  at  Jerusalem  received  "  bread  to  the  eater;" 
and  having  lived  on  the  word  themselves,  they  carried 
it  with  them  to  their  hom.es,  as  "seed  to  the  sower:" 
and  thence  sprang  a  harvest,  that  waved  like  Lebanon, 
in  Europe,  in  Africa,  and  in  the  East,  during  the  life- 
time of  the  Eleven. 

The  utterance  given  by  the  Spirit  to  the  mission- 
aries was  aptly  symbolized  by  the  tongues  of  fire.  As 
water  in  baptism  signifies  the  spiritual  cleansing,  so 
the  fire,  resting  on  the  apostles'  heads,  promised  the 
living  conquering  energy  with  which  they  should  preach 
the  gospel  and  spread  the  kingdom.     The  speech  that 


42  TJie   CliJtrch   i/i   tJie  House. 

publishes  the  glad  tidings  should  be  a  tongue  of  fire. 
He  who  speaks  the  gospel  coldly  has  not  himself  felt 
its  power.  When  the  preacher's  heart  is  kindled,  his 
words  will  burn.  Enthusiasm,  instead  of  being  a  blem- 
ish in  a  Christian,  is  his  normal  condition.  "  Fervent 
in  spirit,  serving  the  Lord;"  these  two  have  been  joined 
together  by  the  Word  of  God,  and  they  should  never 
be  put  asunder  in  the  practice  of  men. 

The  gift  of  tongues — the  "utterance"  imparted  by 
the  Spirit — was  a  direct  means  of  establishing  Christ's 
kingdom,  in  that  it  supplied  the  apostles  at  the  begin- 
ning of  their  work  with  a  certificate  of  their  call  and 
their  competence.  It  was  evidence  to  all  who  heard 
that  they  were  Divinely  commissioned  to  make  known 
the  way  of  life.  But  besides  its  use  as  a  sign  to  certify 
the  calling  of  the  preachers,  it  was  in  its  own  nature 
fitted,  more  than  any  other  sign,  directly  to  promote 
the  cause.  It  both  proved  the  doctrine  true,  and  spread 
it  far.  The  expression  of  the  doctrine  by  Galilean 
preachers,  in  a  language  that  foreigners  understood, 
both  induced  the  hearers  to  believe  and  enabled  them 
to  carry  home  what  they  had  heard  for  the  benefit  of 
their  own  countrymen.  Any  other  sign  from  heaven 
might  have  been  equally  effective  to  convince  the  on- 
lookers that  the  apostles  had  a  Divine  commission  to 
make  known  God's  will;  but  no  other  sign  would  have 
suited  so  well  as  an  instrument  to  spread  the  Word 
of  life  rapidly  among  the  nations — to  sow  the  seed  in 
the  first  spring  over  the  wide  field  of  the  world. 

A  question  has  been  raised  as  to  the  precise  import 
of  the  expression,  "dwelling  at  Jerusalem,"  whether  it 
means  Jews  born  and  bred  in  foreign  countries,  who  in 
old  age  returned  to  lay  their  bones  in  the  sacred  city, 
or  Jews  and  proselytes  whose  homes  were  in  the  various 
countries  enumerated,  and  who  were  sojourning  tempo- 
rarily at  Jerusalem,  that  they  might  worship  at  the  feasts. 
There  may  have  been  specimens  of  both  kinds;  but  the 
spirit  of  the  narrative  seems  to  imply  that  the  majority 
belonged  to  the  latter  class,  and  the  Ethiopian  eunuch 
is  an  example.  Having  come  so  far,  it  is  probable  that 
he  remained  a  considerable  time  in  the  city;  and  that 
he,  and  such  as  he,  although  only  visitors,  might  cor-, 
rectly  be  represented  as  "dwelling  at  Jerusalem." 


The    Seed  of  the    Word  is    spread.  43 

The  Lord  lives  and  rules  now  and  in  this  land,  as 
really  as  then  in  Juda:a.  He  is  the  same  yesterday  and 
to-day  and  for  ever.  When  a  yount^  person  ffoes  for  a 
time  to  reside  in  town  or  country  at  a  distance  from  home, 
and  there  hears  the  wonderful  works  of  God — the  work 
of  redemption  by  the  death  of  Christ — let  him  think,  God 
has  brought  me  to  this  place  in  order  to  speak  this  word 
to  me;  he  means  that  I  should  receive  it,  and  live;  that, 
living  by  faith  on  his  Son,  I  should  return  to  my  own 
home  and  tell  what  great  things  the  Lord  hath  done 
for  me. 


VIIL 

THE  SEED   OF  THE    WORD  IS  SPREAD. 

"And  there  were  tkueliijig  at  yeriisalciii  ye^c's,  devotit  tiwn,  out  of  every 
nation  under  heaven.  A^ow  when  this  was  noised  abroad,  the  multitude  came 
i0i:;etlur,  and  were  confounded,  because  that  e7>ery  man  heard  them  speak  in 
his  own  language.  And  they  were  all  amazed  and  marvelled,  saying  one  to 
another.  Behold  are  not  all  these  which  speak  Galileans  ?  And  how  hear 
7oe  every  man  in  our  o'vn  tongue,  wherein  we  were  born  ?  Parthians,  and 
J\/edes,  and  Elamites,  and  the  dwellers  in  Mesopotamia,  and  in  fudiTa,  a)id 
Cappadocia,  in  Pontus,  and  Asia,  Phrygia,  and  Pamphylia,  in  Egypt,  and 
in  the  parts  of  Libya  about  Cyrene,  and  strangers  of  Rome,  fe^us  and  prose- 
lytes, Cretes  and  Arabians,  we  do  hear  them  speak  in  our  tongues  the  won- 
derful -works  of  God.'' — Acts  ii.  5-1  i, 

Ix  the  cotton  factories  of  Lancashire  you  may  see  a  huge 
piece  of  machinery,  fifty  feet  in  length,  and  containing 
hundreds  of  spindles,  moving  slowly,  steadily,  across  the 
floor  from  one  side  of  the  room  to  another;  and  then, 
without  the  touch  of  a  human  hand,  turning  and  mov- 
ing as  steadily  and  slowly  back  to  the  place  from  which 
it  started.  It  is  a  great  triumph  of  mechanical  skill  to 
insert  within  the  machine  a  power  by  which,  after  it  has 
moved  a  long  way  forward,  it  shall  stop,  and  move  as 
far  backward. 

I  think  I  see  a  similar  contrivance  in  the  Mosaic 
institutes.  They  were  calculated  and  fitted  to  retain 
the  word  of  God  at  Jerusalem  till  a  certain  time,  and 
then  to  send  the  word  forth  from  Jerusalem.  The  very 
same  provision  that  confined  the  ordinances  to  Lsrael 
until  Christ  came,  became  the  means  of  spreading  them 


44  TJw   Church   in   the  House. 

over  the  world  at  the  appointed  tune — when  the  day  of 
Pentecost  was  fully  come. 

All  the  people  must  come  to  one  place  with  their 
sacrifices.  Year  by  year  they  made  a  pilgrimage  to 
Jerusalem  at  the  Passover  and  the  other  appointed 
feasts.  Even  after  some  of  the  people  had  settled  in 
foreign  lands  they  still  obeyed  this  law.  The  Ethiopian 
treasurer  travelled  a  thousand  miles  for  this  purpose,  and 
many  others  from  east  and  west  and  south  and  north  met 
him  there.  This  institution  seemed  intended  and  fitted 
to  confine  all  worship  of  the  true  God  to  one  place  for 
ever.  It  seemed  to  forbid  the  spread  of  true  religion 
over  the  world,  and  yet  it  became  the  means  of  carry- 
ing the  gospel  forth  from  Jerusalem,  and  making  it  known 
to  the  nations. 

This  law  and  practice  brought  devout  Jews  and  pros- 
elytes from  many  lands  to  Jerusalem  at  the  Pentecost 
after  the  resurrection  of  Christ.  Being  on  the  spot  when 
the  Spirit  was  poured  out,  they  heard  each  in  his  own 
tongue  the  gospel  of  grace,  and  carried  the  glad  tid- 
ings home.  Thus  Christ  was  preached  in  many  dis- 
tant countries  very  soon  after  his  own  ministry  was 
closed.  That  word  which  the  strangers  heard  at  Je- 
rusalem they  carried  home  as  seed,  and  from  that  seed 
an  early  harvest  sprung. 

In  a  still,  hot,  sultry  day  of  autumn,  as  you  walk 
through  the  fields,  your  attention  is  arrested  by  a  tiny 
sound  of  brief  intervals,  as  if  it  were  an  explosion  in 
miniature.  You  stand  still  and  listen.  Now  and  then 
you  hear  a  sharp  shot,  and  a  few  seconds  thereafter  a 
shower  of  tiny  balls  falling  on  the  ground  or  on  the 
leaves  of  the  larger  plants.  It  is  the  bursting  of  seed- 
pods  in  the  sun.  The  casket  that  contains  the  seed 
of  some  plants  is  composed  of  four  or  five  long  narrow 
staves,  joined  together  like  cooper  work,  but  without 
the  hoops.  The  staves  are  glued  together  at  the  edges, 
and  the  vessel  thus  constructed  is  sufficiently  strong 
to  retain  and  protect  the  seed  till  it  is  ripe.  But  if 
the  seeds  were  retained  in  the  vessel  after  they  are 
ripe,  the  purposes  of  Nature  would  be  thwarted.  Ac- 
cordingly at  this  stage  there  is  a  turning-point,  and 
the  action  of  the  machinery  is  reversed.  The  very 
same  qualities  in  the  seed-vessels  that  hold  fast  the 


The  Seed  of  the   Word  is   spread.  45 

seed  while  it  is  green,  jerk  it  to  a  distance  and  sow 
it  broadcast  after  it  is  ripe.  When  the  pods  are  dried 
in  the  sun  the  glutinous  cement  holds  fast,  the  staves 
of  the  little  barrel  are  bent,  and  when  at  last  the  burst- 
ing force  overcomes  the  adhesion,  they  open  with  a 
spring  that  flings  the  seed  to  a  distance,  as  if  from  a 
sower's  hand. 

Thus  the  same  mechanism  that  secures  the  confine- 
ment of  the  seed  to  one  spot  while  it  is  green,  provides 
that  it  shall  be  scattered  to  a  distance  when  it  is  ripe; 
so  that,  next  year,  a  larger  space  shall  be  covered  by 
its  growth.  By  this  contrivance  in  Nature,  although 
no  human  hand  were  near,  a  whole  field  would  soon 
be  sown  by  seed  from  a  single  plant. 

Thus  the  law  in  Israel  that  confined  the  sacrifices 
to  one  spot,  and  so  brought  Jews  and  proselytes  from 
all  the  surrounding  countries  to  Jerusalem  at  the  Pen- 
tecost, threw  the  seed  of  the  Word  as  by  a  spring  out 
from  Jerusalem  into  all  the  neighboring  nations.  These 
Parthians,  and  Medes,  and  Elamites,  and  dwellers  in 
Mesopotamia,  were  the  seed-vessels,  charged  with  pre- 
cious seed  at  Jerusalem,  and  then  thrown  back  on  the 
several  countries  whence  they  had  come.  In  this  way 
the  gospel  was  in  a  single  season  brought  to  regions 
which  otherwise  it  might  not  have  reached  in  the  course 
of  a  century. 

We  know,  in  point  of  fact,  from  ancient  history  that 
the  Christian  Church  sprang  up  in  many  widely  separ- 
ated regions  during  the  lifetime  of  the  apostles,  or  very 
soon  after  their  death.  This  fact  finds  its  explanation 
in  the  gathering  at  Pentecost,  and  the  gift  of  tongues. 
Take,  for  e.vample,  those  nations  that  are  first  men- 
tioned in  the  list,  and  lie  eastward  from  Palestine,  in 
the  heart  of  Asia.  The  Parthians  and  Medes  and  Elam- 
ites were  contiguous  and  allied  peoples.  Elam  cor- 
responds to  Persia,  and  the  two  others  were  closely 
related  to  that  ancient  and  celebrated  kingdom.  The 
Persians  maintained  an  emjure  independent  of  Rome 
for  several  centuries  after  the  commencement  of  the 
Christian  era.  In  ancient  times  the  Persians  were  fire- 
worshippers;  and  that  portion  of  the  race  who,  under 
the  name  of  Parsees,  are  still  found  in  Western  India, 
adhere  to  the  religion  of  their  fathers.     Tlie  sun  is  their 


46  The  Church  in   the  House. 

chief  god,  but  they  worship  fire  wherever  it  occurs.  Per- 
haps these  Persians  had  emigrated  eastward  before  their 
country  was  overrun  by  Mahomet. 

We  may  be  assured  that  the  proselytes  from  Persia 
would  experience  peculiar  emotions  when  they  saw  the 
tongues  of  fire,  and  heard  the  gospel  in  their  own  lan- 
guage from  the  lips  of  Galileans.  Here  is  fire  that 
really  sheds  light  on  the  darkness,  and  kindles  life  where 
death  had  reigned  before. 

A  Christian  Church  existed  in  Persia  in  the  earliest 
centuries  of  our  era.  In  the  year  333  it  endured  a  vio- 
lent persecution,  in  many  respects  similar  to  that  which 
has  raged  against  the  Christians  of  Madagascar  at  va- 
rious periods  in  the  present  generation.  At  one  time 
the  principal  bishop,  with  a  hundred  ministers  of  in- 
ferior rank,  were  put  to  death.  The  bishop,  Simeon, 
when  brought  into  the  king's  presence  for  trial,  refused 
to  prostrate  himself,  as  he  had  formerly  done  without 
scruple;  giving  as  his  reason  that  the  act  might  have 
been  misunderstood  when  he  was  called  to  witness  re- 
garding his  religion  and  his  God.  Ordered  to  worship 
the  sun,  he  refused,  saying  that  the  sun  was  even  less 
worthy  of  worship  than  the  king,  as  it  was  not  a  living 
creature  at  all.  He  was  sent  back  to  prison  for  a  day, 
that  he  might  have  time  to  reflect.  Next  day  the 
prisoners  were  all  brought  out  for  execution.  The 
bishop  and  two  companions  were  kept  to  the  last,  in 
the  hope  that  the  sight  of  so  many  executions  would 
soften  them,  and  induce  them  to  deny  Christ.  He  re- 
mained firm.  One  of  his  friends  having  manifested 
symptoms  of  fear,  an  officer  of  the  king's  household, 
named  Phusek,  a  Christian,  said  to  him,  "  Fear  not ;  shut 
5^our  eyes  but  a  moment,  and  you  will  open  them  on 
the  light  of  Christ."  When  this  was  reported  to  the 
king,  he  upbraided  his  servant  Phusek;  but  that  Chris- 
tian witness  replied  that  he  would  gladly  give  away 
all  the  honors  the  king  had  bestowed,  in  exchange  for 
the  crown  of  martyrdom.  His  tongue  was  thereupon 
torn  out,  and  he  died  in  torture. 

In  this  persecution  the  common  Christian  people 
were  for  the  most  part  permitted  to  escape,  while  the 
chiefs  were  sought  out  and  put  to  death.  It  lasted, 
with  greater  or  less  violence,  for  a  period  of  forty  years. 


Missions.  47 

Nothing  could  show  more  clearly  than  these  sad 
events  the  great  extent  to  which  Christianity  had 
spread  in  those  early  ages.  A  great  harvest  sprang 
in  many  lands  from  the  seed  that  the  worshippers  found 
at  Jerusalem — a  great  flame  of  spiritual  life  was  kindled 
in  the  far  East  by  those  fiery  tongues  of  the  Pentecost 
revival. 


IX. 

MISSIONS. 


"And  they  were  all  amazed,  and  luere  in  doubt,  saying  (n*e  lo  another. 
What  incancth  this  ?  " — Acts  ii.  12. 

When  the  noise  was  heard,  the  multitude  came  to- 
gether, and  were  confounded:  they  were  poured  to- 
gether, and  lost  all  distinct  thought  and  judgment. 
In  this  state  of  confusion  and  amazement,  some  mocked 
the  speakers,  attributing  their  language  to  drunken- 
ness; others,  grave  and  solemnized,  but  uncertain,  ut- 
tered to  each  other  the  question,  "What  meaneth 
this  ?  " 

We  have  already  endeavored  to  reach  the  meaning 
of  the  fact  for  that  generation;  but  it  will  be  profitable 
also  to  inquire  what  it  means  for  our  own.  After  the 
first  ages,  there  came  a  period  of  feebleness  and  decay. 
The  Church  was  extinguished  in  some  countries,  and 
corrupted  in  others.  The  vine  that  grew  on  the  moun- 
tains of  Judah,  and  threw  its  branches  westward  to  the 
Mediterranean,  and  eastward  to  the  Euphrates,  was  on 
all  sides  assailed  and  cut  down.  In  the  East  it  was 
destroyed;  and  in  the  West,  although  the  branches  re- 
mained in  their  place,  they  lost  their  life-sap,  and 
withered. 

After  a  long  period  of  midnight,  the  Reformation 
dawned.  God  granted  a  revival  to  the  slumbering  na- 
tions of  Europe.  Jesus  seemed  to  stand,  as  once  he 
stood  at  the  grave  of  Lazaras,  and  call  the  dead  to 
life.  The  dry  bones  of  the  valley  started  up,  an  ex- 
ceeding great  army  of  living  men. 

It  would  have  been  well  if  the  men  of  the  Refor- 


48  The    Church   in   the  House. 

mation,  when  they  shook  off  the  yoke  of  Rome,  had 
betaken  themselves  to  this  text,  and  considered  the 
question,  "  What  meaneth  this  ?  "  They  missed  one 
half  of  its  meaning.  They  caught  the  Pentecost  re- 
vival in  as  far  as  it  meant  the  getting  of  spiritual  life 
for  themselves;  but  they  missed  it,  in  great  measure, 
in  as  far  as  it  meant  the  publishing  of  the  glad  tidings 
in  all  lands.  They  secured  the  Spirit,  descending  as 
fire  to  kindle  love  to  Christ,  in  their  own  hearts;  but 
they  did  not,  in  any  large  measure,  receive  the  Spirit 
as  tongues  of  fire,  to  spread  the  light  through  the  dark 
places  of  the  earth.  They  gladly  accepted  the  privi- 
leges of  sons;  but  they  did  not  with  sufficient  energy 
exert  themselves  as  servants.  They  became  Chris- 
tians, but  not  missionaries.  Their  circumstances,  in- 
deed, as  compared  to  ours,  were  adverse.  They  were 
involved  in  controversies,  and  crushed  by  persecuting 
wars. 

In  our  times  a  great  reviving  has  again  visited  the 
Church  of  Christ.  Disciples  have  in  the  present  cen- 
tury again  learned  to  know  the  meaning  of  the  sign 
from  heaven.  We  have  enjoyed  comparative  peace, 
and  we  have  at  command  much  greater  resources. 
More  in  the  way  of  talent  has  been  given  to  us,  and, 
therefore,  from  us  more  in  the  way  of  work  will  be  re- 
quired. The  Church  of  this  century  has  accepted  this 
sign  both  as  a  baptism  of  fire  for  spiritual  life  in  itself, 
and  as  a  tongue  of  fire  to  tell  in  burning  words  the 
Redeemer's  love  in  heathen  lands. 

"  What  meaneth  this"  for  the  present  generation  of 
believers  .''  It  meaneth  pre-eminently  Ml.SSIONS.  The 
best  paraphrase  of  the  passage  was  given  in  the  v/ords 
of  the  Lord  Jesus,  when  he  said,  "  Go  ye  into  all  the 
world,  and  preach  the  gospel  unto  every  creature." 

One  of  the  chief  external  hindrances  to  the  spread 
of  the  gospel  is  the  confusion  of  tongues.  A  strange 
language,  which  the  missionary  meets  when  he  crosses 
a  sea  or  a  mountain-range,  is  like  a  wall  that  stops  his 
progress,  saying,  "  Hitherto  shalt  thou  come,  but  no 
further."  The  men  of  Galilee,  at  the  Pentecost,  were 
enabled  to  surmount  that  difficulty  by  a  miracle  of  Di- 
vine power.  They  might  have  sung  with  David,  "  By 
my  God   assisting   me,   I   overleap  a  wall."     The   un- 


Missions.  49 

learned  Jews  opened  their  lips  to  speak  of  Christ,  and 
the  str:  ngers  from  various  countries  instantly  heard, 
each  in  his  own  language,  the  wonderful  works  of  God. 
A  missionary  of  our  day  might  pine  for  such  a  privi- 
lege. If  a  Christian  starting  from  Britain  or  America, 
and  arriving  in  China,  had  nothing  more  to  do  than 
open  his  lips  and  preach  the  Word  as  if  he  were  at 
home,  the  work  w^ould  be  easy.  Yes,  it  would  be 
easy;  and,  also,  it  would  be  easy  to  live,  if,  by  a  word 
of  blessing  uttered  over  it,  a  little  bread  should  grow 
into  rations  for  five  thousand  men.  But  this  is  not,  in 
either  sphere,  the  way  of  the  Lord.  It  would  not  be 
difficult  to  prove  that  the  miracle,  which,  occurring 
once,  served  a  great  and  good  purpose,  would,  if  it  be- 
came the  ordinary  rule,  destroy  all.  Enough,  that  the 
will  of  the  Lord  is,  that  we  should  till  and  sow  in  or- 
der to  obtain  bread;  that  we  should  patiently  learn 
strange  tongues,  in  order  that  we  may  make  known 
through  them  the  redemption  of  Christ. 

We  have  greater  things  than  these  men  of  the  Pen- 
tecost enjoyed.  We  are  better  off  than  they.  Greater 
numbers  are  converted  every  year  by  ordinary  natural 
speech  than  ever  were  converted  by  the  extraordinary 
gift  of  tongues.  In  the  Great  Exhibition  at  London, 
as  far  back  as  1851,  the  Bible  was  shown  in  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  languages.  Behold,  a  greater  privilege 
than  the  gift  of  tongues,  a  greater  than  the  Pentecost 
miracle,  is  here  !  This  acquisition  is  permanent.  The 
way  once  opened  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  different 
tribes  remains  open.  These  canals  once,  by  much  la- 
bor, excavated,  remain  to  convey  the  living  water  to 
a  thirsty  land  from  generation  to  generation.  The  mir- 
acle of  Pentecost  did  not  last  long:  the  flickering  light 
of  those  fiery  tongues  was  soon  extinguished.  The  ex- 
traordinary gift  was  not  itself  a  permanent  substance, 
but  a  shadow  that  pointed  to  something  better,  and 
then  parsed  away.  These  polyglot  Bibles  of  the  Lon- 
don Exhibition  were  the  fulfilment  of  the  Pentecostal 
prophecy.  The  sign  from  heaven  only  pointed  out  the 
direction  in  which  our  efforts  should  be  made,  and  then 
withdrew. 

This  sign  then,  for  us,  manifestly  meaneth,  that  we 
should  break  forth  on  every  side,  and  burst  through  or 


50  The   Chit  veil   in   the  House. 

overleap  the  barrier  of  strange  tongues,  and  all  other 
barriers  that  stand  in  the  way,  and  never  rest  until  the 
kingdoms  of  this  world  shall  have  become  the  king- 
doms of  our  Lord  and  of  his  Christ. 

Our  own  tongue  has,  in  the  sovereign  providence 
of  God,  been  more  highly  favored  than  any  other;  and 
from  them  to  whom  much  is  given  much  shall  be  re- 
quired. This  language  is  nowhere  now  desecrated  by 
a  state  law  to  prohibit  any  human  being  from  reading 
the  Word  of  God.  In  this  language  there  are  more 
Bibles  than  in  any  other;  and  this  is  the  language 
that  is  spreading  faster  and  farther  than  any  other 
over  the  world.  The  two  nations  that  speak  it.  Great 
Britain  and  the  United  States,  are  the  greatest  mari- 
time powers;  and  together  they  hold  sway  over  a  fourth 
part  of  the  earth,  and  a  sixth  part  of  men.  Not  only 
are  these  two  nations  already  so  far  advanced,  but  they 
are  advancing  at  a  much  greater  ratio  than  other  na- 
tions. God  is  giving  the  earth  to  those  people  who 
give  his  Word  to  mankind  without  restraint  and  with- 
out limit.  That  tongue  which  most  freely  circulates 
the  Bible  bids  fair  to  become  the  paramount  language 
of  the  human  race.  "Them  that  honor  me,  I  will  honor." 
Let  the  two  nations  which  use  in  common  this  mother 
tongue  be  faithful  to  the  Head  and  loving  to  each  other, 
and  their  destiny,  even  in  the  near  future,  may  be  grand- 
er than  any  prophet  has  yet  been  able  to  conceive. 

This  in  regard  to  the  tongue;  but  what  of  the  fire  } 
Would  that  it  were  already  kindled  by  the  Holy  Spirit 
in  the  secret  of  believing  hearts,  wrapping  first  the 
Church  and  then  the  world  in  its  flame. 


X. 

AM  APOSTLE  PREACHES. 

"  But  Pt'tt-r,  standin;:;  itp  tvitk  the  eleven,  lifted  tip  his  voice  and  saiil 
unto  them.  Ye  imii  of  Jitdica,  and  all  ye  that  divell  at  yenisalein,  be  this 
Iciio'on  tdito you,  and  hearken  to  my  70ords.'" — Acts  II.  14. 

In  the  life  of  the  Lord  himself,  it  was  after  the  Spirit 
had  descended  upon  him  at  his  baptism,  that  he  broke 
forth  into  a  positive,  aggressive  ministr\'.     In  this  re- 


An  Apostle  preaches.  5 1 

spect  the  Church,  which  is  his  body,  follows  the  same 
rule.  Before  the  mission  of  the  Spirit  at  Pentecost  the 
disciples  remained  at  Jerusalem,  and  remained  silent 
there.  Upward  to  God  there  was  much  sighing  and 
crj'ing  in  the  interval,  but  no  word  going  outward  to 
men.  It  was  a  time  to  receive,  not  a  time  to  give: 
they  waited  for  one  great  receiving,  which  should 
enable  them  to  give  out  all  their  life  afterward. 

There  were,  first,  prayer  with  one  accord;  next,  the 
gracious  answer  in  the  gift  of  the  Spirit;  and  then  the 
positive  ministry  began.  Now  the  apostles  have  re- 
ceived power;  and  now  they  will  become  witnesses  of 
Christ.  Beginning  at  Jerusalem,  they  will  not  cease 
.from  their  labors  until  all  ends  of  the  earth  shall  see 
the  salvation  of  God. 

The  multitude  who  had  gathered  round  the  disci- 
ples, and  had  heard  the  wonderful  works  of  God,  were 
now  divided  into  two  portions, — the  overawed  inqui- 
rers, and  the  light-hearted  mockers.  Thus  far  and  no 
farther  can  signs  and  wonders  go.  The  work  of  con- 
version, in  its  completeness,  is  due  to  another  power. 
Although  the  earthquake  and  the  storm  may  prove 
effectual  to  shake  the  heedless  out  of  their  lethargy, 
the  still  small  voice  must  come  after  these  signs  ere  a 
human  soul  can  be  reached  with  renewing  grace.  The 
miracles  of  Pentecost  avail  to  divide  the  multitude 
only  into  two  classes;  some  were  solemnized  and 
amazed;  others  in  the  vanity  of  their  hearts  attempted 
to  laugh  down  the  whole  matter  as  a  drunken  freak. 
But  when  the  Word  is  preached  with  the  power  of  the 
Spirit — the  Word  of  God  that  goes  like  a  sword 
through  the  joints  and  marrow — it  will  be  found  that 
the  two  classes  grow  into  three.  Besides  the  mock- 
ers, and  the  solemnized  inquirers,  the  believers  will 
emerge — those  who  receive  the  word  with  gladness 
and  live  by  faith. 

Having  now  received  the  power,  the  apostles  will 
immediately  e.xercise  it.  They  will  seize  the  oppor- 
tunity of  being  witnesses  for  Christ.  Peter,  as  usual, 
is  spokesman.  Prince,  that  is,  "foremost,"  of  the  apos- 
tles, he  certainly  is,  in  the  sense  that  he  is  always 
ready  to  spring  to  his  feet  and  to  speak  for  himself 
and  his  brethren. 


52  The   CJturcJi   in   the  House. 

Peter  stood  up.  Possibly  there  were  some  private 
consultations  between  him  and  those  who  happened  to 
be  nearest  as  to  who  should  first  speak,  and  what  line 
of  argument  the  speaker  should  adopt.  I  could  even 
conceive  that  John  stood  next  the  spokesman,  and 
helped  him  with  the  quotations  from  Scripture  as  he 
went  along.  It  would  appear  also  (verse  14)  that  the 
whole  college  of  apostles  stood  up  while  Peter  spoke, 
that  they  might  adopt  his  words  as  the  testimony 
of  all.  He  lifted  up  his  voice,  perhaps  in  a  very 
loud  tone,  in  order  to  reach  the  outskirts  of  the  vast 
congregation. 

Here  the  preaching  of  a  completed  redemption  be- 
gan. This  is  the  first  sermon.  Since  that  time  the 
preaching  of  Christ  has  exercised  a  great  power  on  the 
world;  and  it  must  continue  until,  like  the  sun,  the 
light  of  the  Gospel  shall  compass  the  earth. 

In  this  first  specimen  of  preaching  peculiar  honor 
is  given  to  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  Testament.  The 
preacher  plants  his  foot  on  the  Prophets  and  the  Psalms 
as  on  a  sure  and  everlasting  foundation.  All  is  grounded 
on  the  inspired  Word.  Further,  this  earliest  example 
of  a  sermon  is  in  the  main  a  narrative.  The  apostles 
considered  themselves  to  be  the  witnesses  of  a  fact  to 
the  world.  They  depended  neither  upon  argument  nor 
rhetoric:  they  told  a  story,  and  looked  to  God  for  the 
power.  At  a  subsequent  period,  even  in  apostolic  times, 
it  became  necessary  to  intermingle  doctrinal  discussion 
with  the  narrative  of  facts;  but  at  the  outset  it  was 
testimony  merely,  and  it  continued  to  be  testimony 
mainly  to  the  last. 

Even  now  the  essence  of  preaching  is  the  statement 
of  a  fact.  When  the  Evangelist  Luke  at  the  com- 
mencement of  his  second  book  takes  a  retrospective 
view  of  his  earlier  work,  he  calls  it  a  record  of  "all 
that  Jesus  began  both  to  do  and  teach.''  The  doing 
goes  before  the  teaching,  and  lies  under  it  to  sustain, 
as  the  foundation  sustains  the  superstructure.  The 
teaching  is  secondary,  and  subordinate  to  the  acting: 
the  teaching  is  of  use  only  in  as  far  as  it  explains  and 
applies  the  action.  It  is  what  Jesus  did  that  saves; 
and  preaching  is  valuable  onlv  in  as  far  as  it  explains 
and  enforces  his  saving  work. 


An  Apostle'  prcaclit's.  53 

Another  feature  of  Peter's  sermon  is  tliat  it  presents 
Christ  as  the  fulfilment  of  Scripture.  The  disciple  had 
learned  this  from  his  Master.  When  Jesus  had  read 
the  text  from  Isaiah  in  the  synagogue  at  Nazareth 
(Luke  iv.  16-22)  he  closed  the  book  and  gave  it  again 
to  the  attendant;  and,  presenting  himself  to  the  au- 
dience, he  said,  "This  day  is  this  Scripture  fulfilled  in 
}'our  ears."  It  is  only  when  we  read  them  in  the  light 
of  Christ  risen  that  the  Prophets  and  the  Psalms  can 
be  understood.  It  is  when  the  sun  rises  and  shines 
on  them  that  all  the  gems  scattered  over  the  ground 
and  partly  embedded  in  the  earth  begin  to  sparkle  like 
stars  in  the  sky. 

Towards  the  close  of  his  discourse,  Peter  exhibits 
great  skill  and  boldness  in  pressing  home  his  doctrine 
to  the  hearts  of  his  hearers.  This  is  an  outstanding 
characteristic  of  apostolic  preaching:  we  must  adopt 
this  method  if  we  would  see  the  kingdom  coming  in 
our  own  day.  If  we  draw  weapons  from  the  Lord's 
great  armory,  and  suspend  them  in  the  air,  that  spec- 
tators may  see  and  admire  their  sheen  and  sharpness, 
and  if  we  then  cease,  our  labor  is  vain.  These  weapons 
are  made  for  wounding;  and  he  handles  them  uselessly 
and  faithlessly  who  does  not  bring  their  points  to  bear 
on  the  enemies  of  the  King  that  lurk  in  human  hearts. 

In  this  case  the  preaching  was  successful:  the  sword 
went  home.  "  They  were  pricked  in  their  hearts,"  and 
the  wounded  sought  the  Healer.  The  apostles  led 
the  convicted  to  Christ.  The  words  of  Peter  gener- 
ated a  great  thirst  in  many  souls;  the  thirsty  were  led, 
on  the  instant,  to  the  water  of  life.  They  gladly  re- 
ceived his  word,  and  the  same  day  were  added  unto 
them  about  three  thousand  souls. 


54  '^^11-^   ClntrcJi   in  tJie  House. 

XI. 

RIGHTLY  DIVIDING    THE    WORD   OF  TRUTH. 

•'  No-w  token  they  heard  this,  they  were  pricked  in  their  heart,  and  said 
unto  Peter  and  to  the  rest  of  the  apo sties.  Men  and  brethren,  wkat  shall  we 
do  ?  Then  Peter  said  unto  them.  Repent,  and  be  baptized  every  one  of  you 
in  the  name  of  fesus  Christ  for  the  remission  of  sins,  and  ye  shall  receive 
tke  gift  of  tke  Holy  Ghost.  For  tke  promise  is  unto  you,  and  to  your  chil- 
dren, and  to  all  that  are  afar  off,  even  as  many  as  tke  Lord  our  God  shall 
call.  And  with  many  other  ivords  did  he  testify  and  exkort,  saying.  Save 
yourselves  from  tkis  untoward  generation.'^ — Acts  ii.  37-40. 

In  order  to  understand  how  they  received  the  Word 
"  Gladly,"  we  must  remember  that  they  had  been 
"  ])ricked  in  their  hearts."  They  had  been  wounded; 
and  now  the  healing  is  grateful.  The  Word  had 
wounded;  and  now  the  Word  heals.  A  little  religion 
is  a  painful  thing;  but  more  religion  takes  the  pain 
away.  The  Word  is  both  a  hammer  to  break  the  rock 
in  pieces,  and  a  balm  to  heal  the  broken  heart.  Its  first 
effect  is  to  convince  a  sinner  that  he  is  lost;  its  next, 
to  make  the  lost  rejoice  in  his  Saviour. 

It  is  of  first-rate  importance  to  keep  these  two  func- 
tions of  the  Word  distinct,  and  to  keep  the  right  one 
foremost.  To  preach  a  healing  gospel  where  there  is 
no  wound  on  the  conscience,  is  like  pressing  draughts 
of  cold  water  on  those  who  experience  no  thirst.  I 
know  of  nothing  sweeter  than  water  to  the  thirsty; 
but  I  know  of  nothing  more  insipid  than  water  to  those 
who  are  already  satisfied. 

The  apostles  after  Pentecost  were  skilful  preachers 
— they  rightly  divided  the  word  of  truth.  If  you  ex- 
amine Peter's  discourse,  as  far  as  it  is  recorded  here, 
you  will  find  that  its  specific  and  consistent  aim  is,  in 
the  first  place,  to  produce  in  the  audience  a  conviction 
of  their  own  guilt.  The  immediate  purpose  for  which 
he  appeals  to  Scripture  is  to  bring  home  to  those  Jews 
who  stood  before  him  the  guilt  of  crucifying  the  Son 
of  God.  It  was  not  with  gladness  that  they  received 
that  word:  it  was  with  grief,  shame,  remorse. 

It  was  when  the  preacher  saw  that  his  first  word 
had  taken  effect,  that  he  delivered  the  second.  He 
has  succeeded  in  wounding;  and  at  the  cry  of  the  suf- 


Ri^/ith  dividiiig  the   Word  of  Trntli.  55 

fering  patient,  he  comes  forward  now  to  heal.  The 
old  stem  has  been  cut  off,  and  the  tree  is  bleeding;  he 
will  turn  now  the  knife  that  is  in  his  hand,  and  with 
its  other  side  insert  the  new  graft,  that  there  may  be 
a  tree  of  righteousness,  the  planting  of  the  Lord. 

You  pour  from  your  phial  some  burning  drops  upon 
a  sore:  their  first  effect  is  to  increase  the  pain;  but 
knowing  the  sovereign  power  of  the  remedy,  you  con- 
tinue to  pour  it  on  the  ailing  place,  sparing  not  for  the 
patient's  crying.  At  length  the  continued  application 
of  that  which  caused  the  pain,  takes  all  the  pain  away. 
When  the  Word  of  God  wounds  a  soul,  continue  to 
ply  that  soul  with  the  Word,  until  the  sword  that 
wounded  becomes  the  balm  that  heals.  Then,  in  this 
second  stage,  the  hearer  will  receive  the  Word 
gladly. 

Indeed,  he  who  receives  the  Word  will  receive  it 
gladly;  for  those  who  do  not  receive  it  gladly,  will  not 
long  continue  to  receive  it  at  all.  These  believers  were 
immediately  baptized.  Of  many  interesting  questions 
connected  with  this  baptism,  which  might  in  proper 
time  and  place  be  profitably  discussed,  I  shall  here 
touch  only  one.  It  is  clear  from  the  narrative  that  re- 
generation was  not  the  result  of  baptism,  but  baptism 
the  result  of  regeneration.  It  was  when  they  had  re- 
ceived the  Word  with  gladness,  that  they  were  bap- 
tized. The  order  of  events  is  precisely  that  which  the 
Master  had  enjoined  (Matt,  x.xviii.  19,  20):  "Go  ye 
therefore,  and — 

1.  "Teach  [make  disciples  of]  all  nations, 

2.  "Baptizing  them  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and 
of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost; 

3.  "  Teaching  them  to  observe  all  things  whatsoever 
I  have  commanded  you." 

In  this  case,  Peter  and  his  companions,  in  striving  to 
build  up  the  Church,  strove  lawfully.  They  first  laid 
themselves  out  to  make  disciples  of  the  people.  Then, 
when  they  perceived  by  the  successive  pain  and  glad- 
ness produced  by  the  preaching  that  the  multitude  had 
become  disciples,  they  baptized  them;  and  lastly,  it  is 
clear,  from  the  concluding  verses  of  this  chapter,  that 
these  newly-accepted  members  of  the  Church  were  suc- 
cessfully taught  to  observe  all  the  commandments  of 


$6  TJie   Church   in   the  House. 

the  Lord,  for  their  subsequent  life  abounded  in  faith  and 
charity. 

But  a  dash  of  sadness  is  thrown  into  the  midst  of 
this  happy  scene;  for  "fear  came  upon  every  soul."  l^ut 
this  points  to  the  outer  circle — to  those  that  as  yet 
believed  not.  The  conversions — many,  sudden,  and 
complete — shone  like  a  light  in  the  darkness.  The  on- 
lookers were  startled.  When  they  saw  so  many  entering 
into  life,  they  were  smitten  with  a  sudden  fear  lest  them- 
selves should  be  left  without  and  perish. 

From  the  apostle's  view-point,  however,  this  fear 
which  they  observed  in  their  neighbors  was  a  hopeful 
symptom.  The  example  of  believers  had  begun  to  tell. 
It  is  a  good  sign,  when  those  who  have  hitherto  lived 
without  God  in  the  world  begin  to  be  uneasy.  Especially 
is  it  a  good  sign  when  the  sight  of  multitudes  pressing 
through  the  strait  gate  into  the  kingdom,  stirs  in  those 
who  are  still  without,  a  dread  of  being  left  behind.  When 
one  or  more  are  raised  up  from  the  miry  pit,  and  get  their 
feet  set  on  a  rock,  and  a  new  song  on  their  lips,  many 
shall  see  it  and  fear,  and  shall  trust  in  the  Lord  (Ps.  xl.) 
The  Christian  community,  in  the  freshness  of  a  first  faith, 
was  suddenly  thrown  into  society;  and  society  was  per- 
turbed and  put  about  by  the  new  and  unwonted  presence. 
If  a  new  planet  should  be  projected  into  our  system,  it 
would  make  the  old  worlds  stagger  in  their  paths.  Bod- 
ies in  contact  reciprocally  affect  each  other,  especially 
in  respect  of  temperature.  Pour  hot  water  into  a  cold 
vessel;  the  water  contributes  to  heat  the  vessel,  but  the 
vessel  also  contributes  to  cool  the  water.  If  a  constant 
and  strong  stream  of  hot  water  is  supplied,  it  will  bring 
up  the  vessel  to  its  own  temperature. 

A  process  like  this  goes  on  continually  between  the 
Church  and  the  world.  Fervent  disciples,  especially  in 
a  time  of  first  love,  affect  with  somewhat  of  their  own 
warmth  the  society  into  which  they  are  poured;  but 
society,  on  the  other  hand,  clasping  round  the  converts, 
affects  them  with  its  own  coldness.  The  world,  being 
the  larger  body,  will  soon  cool,  will  soon  freeze  these 
few  disciples'  hearts,  unless  they  contrive  to  maintain 
constant  contact  with  the  Head,  and  continually  draw 
from  his  fulness. 

A  word  here  to  those  who  live  without  Christ  in  the 


RigJiily  dividing  tlic   Word  of  Truth.  57 

U'orld.  My  friends,  I  confess  that  the  Church  in  contact 
with  you  is  more  or  less  cold  in  spirit.  Its  faith  and  love 
are  not  lively.  The  visible  Church  in  contact  with  so- 
ciety is  not  so  brit^ht  and  burning  as  to  arrest  and  compel 
your  regard.  The  disciples  are  not  so  manifestly  like 
heaven  as  to  send  a  thrill  of  terror  through  you,  lest  you 
should  fail  to  join  their  company.  If  you  remain  care- 
less, I  confess  that  we  are  much  to  blame.  You  have 
cause  to  blame  Christians.  But  if  }^ou  stumble  over  their 
coldness — stumble  so  as  to  fall — what  comfort  will  it 
afford  you  that  you  could  blame  the  Church  for  its  luke- 
warmness  .''  To  blame  them,  even  when  they  are  blame- 
worthy, will  not  save  you  when  you  are  lost. 

Lately  in  this  city  the  father  of  a  family  had  occa- 
sion to  look  over  some  workmen  who  were  engaged  in 
building  a  house  for  him.  After  the  work  was  far  ad- 
vanced, he  found  one  of  the  men  lighting  his  pipe 
among  the  dry,  light,  inflammable  shavings  which 
were  strewn  about  in  all  directions.  Addressing  the 
workman,  the  owner  said,  "  If  my  house  is  burned  by 
these  sparks,  the  blame  will  rest  on  you."  Pausing 
and  thinking  over  what  he  had  said,  he  added  with  a 
sigh,  "The  blame  will  be  yours,  but  the  loss  will  be 
mine;  for  you  cannot  repay."  The  thought  sank  into 
the  proprietor's  heart;  he  saw  the  risk  was  too  great: 
he  went  away  and  insured  the  house. 

Oh,  my  brother,  go  and  do  likewise.  Yourselves — 
not  the  house,  but  the  immortal  inhabitant — your- 
selves are  in  instant  danger  of  being  lost.  Let  it  be 
confessed  there  is  not  such  ardent  faith  in  the  Church 
as  to  awaken  a  slumberer — the  Church  deserves  blame; 
but  the  loss  is  yours.  Go  and  insure.  Your  soul's  life 
is  too  much  exposed;  hide  it  in  a  place  of  safety;  hide 
it  "with  Christ  in  God." 


58  The   CJntrcJi,  in  the  House. 

XII. 

CHRISTIAN  FESTIVITY. 

'■'And  they,  continuing  daily  ivith  one  accord  in  the  temple,  and  break- 
xnf(  bread  from  house  to  house,  did  eat  their  ?iieat  with  gladness  and  single- 
ness of  heart." — Acts  ii.  46. 

When  you  ascend  from  the  centuries  that  succeeded 
the  apostles'  days,  into  the  upper  stratum  of  history, 
in  which  the  apostles  themselves  were  actors,  you 
seem  to  emerge  from  a  stifled,  airless  cave,  where  all 
manner  of  fungous  growths  luxuriate,  into  the  open 
field  where  fresh  breezes  play,  and  sunbeams  glitter, 
and  dew-besprinkled  flowers  shed  their  varied  perfume 
on  the  air.  In  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  you  find  not 
only  a  purer  religion,  but  more  of  common-sense  and 
manliness,  than  in  the  history  of  the  Fathers. 

We  fall  into  a  great  mistake  if,  while  we  seek  in  the 
Scriptures  and  by  prayer  for  direction  in  matters  of 
faith,  and  the  larger  turning  points  of  life,  we  leave 
smaller  affairs,  such  as  our  feasts,  our  company,  and 
recreations,  to  the  arbitrament  of  chance,  or  the  ex- 
ample of  the  world.  "  In  everything  by  prayer  and 
supplication,  with  thanksgiving,  let  your  requests  be 
made  known  unto  God."  "Whether  therefore  ye  eat, 
or  drink,  or  whatsoever  ye  do,  do  all  to  the  glory  of 
God."  It  is  an  unspeakable  privilege  to  be  permitted 
to  run  into  our  Redeemer's  presence  with  the  minor 
anxieties  of  life,  as  well  as  with  the  great  concerns  of 
eternity.  In  this  very  thing  lies  the  distinctive  pecu- 
liarity of  a  child's  position,  as  distinguished  from  that 
of  a  stranger.  Only  on  the  great  things  may  the 
stranger  approach  the  king;  but  in  everything  the  ap- 
peal of  a  child  is  welcome  to  the  Father.  "  Casting 
all yoii7'  care  on  him;  for  he  careth  for  you." 

Avoiding  for  the  present  the  question  regarding  the 
dispensation  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  and  the  relation 
which  it  bore  in  primitive  times  to  the  common  meals 
of  the  disciples,  we  shall  endeavor  to  concentrate  at- 
tention on  the  common  meals  themselves,  and  the 
manner  in  which  Christians  then  enjoyed  them.    "They 


Christian    Festivity.  59 

did  eat  their  moat  with  i^ladness  and  singleness  of  heart." 
But  a  preliminary  to  tliis  gladness  in  eating  their  own 
food,  was  a  liberal  contribution  for  the  comfort  of  poorer 
brethren,  according  to  the  narrative  immediately  pre- 
ceding. Not  indeed  by  a  community  of  goods,  for  it 
was  optional  with  each  proprietor  whether  he  should 
retain  his  property,  and  even  when  it  was  sold,  the 
proceeds  were  distributed  by  himself  according  to  his 
own  judgment  of  the  claimant's  need, — not  by  a  com- 
munity of  goods,  but  by  a  great  and  general  generos- 
ity, the  believers  in  Christ  who  possessed  substance 
had  satisfied  the  poor  with  bread.  This  is  a  necessary 
ingredient  in  the  gladness  with  which  a  Christian  en- 
joys the  plenty  that  may  have  fallen  to  his  lot.  The 
Master  reminded  us,  "  The  poor  ye  have  always  with 
you;"  and  he  meant  that  the  grace  of  liberality  should 
not  die  out  of  our  lives  for  want  of  exercise.  But,  sup- 
posing this  duty  accomplished,  or  rather  this  privilege 
enjo)'ed, — the  larger  of  the  two  blessings,  that  of  giv- 
ing to  our  brethren  who  are  in  need,  the  question 
remains,  What  is  it  to  eat  our  common  meals  with 
gladness  of  heart,  and  how  may  that  pleasure  be  fully 
and  habitually  obtained  .'* 

Although  the  Lord's  Supper  was  more  frequently 
admiiiistered,  and  in  more  close  proximity  to  family 
meals  than  would  be  possible  or  suitable  now  that  the 
Christian  community  has  grown  so  great,  it  is  evident 
that  here  in  the  latter  clause  it  is  not  the  religious  or- 
dinance, but  the  common  meal  that  is  signalized  as 
having  been  simple  and  joyful.  Here  the  footsteps  of 
the  flock  have  been  marked  in  history  for  us:  by  this 
way  they  went,  when  they  met  together  to  eat  their 
daily  bread. 

Some  may  think  this  is  a  matter  on  which  exam- 
ples and  instructions  from  the  Christian  Scriptures  arc 
not  required:  some  may  suppose  that  eating  and  drink- 
ing is  the  concern  of  man  as  such,  and  provided  for  in 
the  laws  of  nature.  But  the  Scriptures  do  claim  the 
control  of  this  matter,  and  lay  down  rules  for  its  con- 
duct. We  need  Divine  guidance  even  on  this  natural 
process.  Even  here  we  lack  wisdom,  and  should  ask 
it  of  the  Father,  who  giveth  to  all  men  liberally. 

Providing,    preparing,  and   partaking   of  food,   is   a 


6o  TJie   Church   in   the  House. 

very  important  work  in  tlie  life  of  man.  A  very  large 
proportion  of  our  time  and  energy  is  necessarily  devo- 
ted to  it.  The  three  allied  questions,  What  shall  we 
eat,  and  what  shall  we  drink,  and  wherewithal  shall  we 
be  clothed.'^  are  legitimate  questions  for  humankind: 
they  are  not  evil  in  themselves;  they  become  evil  only 
in  their  excess,  and  when  they  usurp  the  place  of  great- 
er interests.  It  concerns  us  much  to  do  in  a  right  way 
and  a  right  spirit  those  necessary  acts  which  occupy  a 
large  proportion  of  our  time  and  energy. 

They  did  cat.  These  ancient  Christians  were  not 
hermits.  They  did  not  deny  themselves  their  neces- 
sary food,  or  the  company  of  their  kind.  In  particular, 
they  enjoyed  their  food  more  by  enjoying  it  together. 
They  acknowledged  and  fell  in  with  that  instinct  of  na- 
ture, which  craves  cheerful  company  and  conversation 
at  table.  They  did  not  denounce  and  desert  convivial 
meetings.  The  sight  of  a  friend's  face  and  the  sound 
of  his  voice  while  we  eat,  are  good  gifts  of  God  as  well 
as  the  bread  that  sustains  us,  and  should  be  received 
with  thanksgiving.  It  is  neither  the  aim  nor  the  effect 
of  true  religion  to  thwart  the  affections  and  instincts 
of  nature.  Grace  comes  not  to  destroy  these  appetites, 
but  to  fulfil:  it  comes  not  to  forbid  their  use,  but  to 
purify  them  from  the  abuses  that  sin  has  introduced. 
A  convivial  meeting  is  an  object  of  dread,  particularly 
to  Christian  parents  in  our  land  and  day;  but  it  is  not 
in  itself  evil;  in  as  far  as  it  retains  its  etymological 
meaning,  eating  together,  behold,  it  is  very  good.  It 
is  good  in  its  origin,  and  it  may  be  good  again,  when 
the  various  abominations  that  the  god  of  this  world 
has  associated  with  it  shall  have  been  brushed  away. 
In  convivial  meetings  the  earliest  Christians  did  eat 
their  meat  with  gladness  and  singleness  of  heart,  be- 
fore luxury  corrupted  them;  and  in  convivial  meetings 
Christians  might  yet  enjoy  the  cheerful  society  in  eat- 
ing and  drinking,  which  conduces  to  health  as  well 
as  to  happiness,  if  all  intemperance,  and  frivolity,  and 
licentiousness,  were  banished  from  the  board. 

One  good  reason  for  eating  our  bread  with  gladness 
is  that  we  have  bread  to  eat.  An  additional  cause  of 
joy  may  be  found  in  the  fact  that  a  self-acting  machinery 
has  been  set  up  in  the  constitution  of  our  nature,  which 


C/iristian    Festivity.  6 1 

reminds  us  when  nourishment  is  needed,  and  compels 
us  to  take  it  at  the  proper  time.  If  this  had  been  left 
dependent  on  our  memory  and  faithfulness,  it  would 
have  been  grievously  neglected.  It  is  not  necessary 
that  we  should  painfully  remember  the  necessity  of 
sustenance  for  our  bodies,  and  live  in  fear  lest  life  should 
through  neglect  be  lost.  A  watcher  has  been  placed 
within  our  own  being  like  the  ambassador  of  another 
sovereign  within  our  own  capital,  whose  business  it  is 
to  see  the  needful  food  administered  at  the  needful 
time.  That  sentinel  is  faithful,  and  powerful:  he  never 
sleeps:  and  he  lacks  not  compulsitor  of  pain  to  enforce 
his  commands  if  we  should  be  slow  to  obey.  Hunger 
seems  the  twin  brother  of  conscience;  the  one  watch- 
ing for  the  health  of  the  body,  the  other  for  the  well- 
being  of  the  soul:  both  are  gifts  of  God,  and  both 
invested  with  authority  over  us,  for  our  own  good. 

These  grounds  for  gladness  in  eating  our  daily  bread 
are  common  to  all:  but  there  are  other  reasons  wdiich 
belong  to  Christians  as  such.  Those  who  have  obtained 
peace  with  God  through  Christ  the  Mediator,  have  not 
less,  but  more  enjoyment  in  their  food  than  other  men. 
Instead  of  merely  gathering  their  sustenance  from  the 
ground  like  cattle,  they  enjoy  communion  with  the 
Father  of  their  spirits  every  time  they  eat.  To  give 
thanks  and  ask  the  blessing  by  one  voice  at  the  social 
meal,  constitutes  the  framework  through  which  that 
communion  in  spirit  seeks  expression.  It  is  the  living 
gratitude  in  Christian  hearts  that  has  thrown  out  these 
seemly  e.xpressions;  but  the  presence  of  the  form  does 
not  necessarily  prove  that  the  substance  continues  to 
dwell  within  it.  These  articulate  formulas  of  peity  are 
like  the  shells  which  mollusks  throw  out:  but  the  shell, 
when  once  it  has  been  produced  by  the  energy  of  life, 
may  remain,  symmetrical  and  beautiful,  after  the  living 
creature  has  wasted  all  away.  Do  not  despise  the  e.x- 
ternal  forms;  but  see  that  there  be  life  within  them. 
Let  there  be  filial  confidence  in  a  giving  God  wiu'le 
you  enjoy  your  food,  and  that  emotion  trembling  in 
the  heart  will  find  or  frame  fit  channels  through  which 
it  may  fiov/. 

Singleness  of  heart  accompanied  the  gladness;  and 
in  point  of  fact,  wanting  that  companion,  the  gladness 


^2  The   Church   in   the  House. 

itself  would  soon  disappear.  "  A  double-minded  man 
is  unstable  in  all  his  ways;"  and  even  in  the  matter  of 
eating  and  drinking  in  the  company  of  his  Inends,  the 
shreds  of  pleasure  that  come  and  go,  never  consolidate 
into  a  substantial  joy.  In  very  many  cases,  the  sim- 
plicity is  destroyed  and  the  true  gladness  consequently 
lost,  by  a  b^ge,  burdensome,  irrational  luxury.  The 
cares  of  the  meal  are  sometimes  as  heavy  as  the  man- 
agement of  a  small  estate.  They  distract  and  oppress 
the  entertainer.  Instead  of  singleness,  doubleness  of 
a  very  troublesome  type  is  the  occupant  of  his  heart. 
One  half  of  his  mental  vision  squints  aside  to  calculate 
the  estimation  in  which  the  elaborate  festival  is  held 
by  the  guests.  Simplicity  may  be  marred  too  by  the 
cost  of  the  entertainment  in  relation  to  the  resources 
of  the  entertainer.  With  a  few  of  the  wealthiest  cit- 
izens the  shoe  may  perhaps  never  pinch  at  this  spot; 
but  with  a  great  number  of  their  imitators  it  becomes 
a  real  burden.  Some  approach  to  simplicity  in  the  cost 
of  entertainments  might  both  replenish  the  coffers  of 
charitable  institutions,  and  facilitate  the  settlement  of 
tradesmen's  bills.  In  relation  to  these  matters  our  age 
and  nation  greatly  need  the  old  Apostolic  injunction, 
"Add  to  your  faith  courage."  In  very  many  cases  it 
is  courage  that  is  needed — courage  to  be  singular,  ani 
strength  to  stem  the  stream.  But  where  may  we  ex- 
pect to  find  the  virtue  that  can  dare  to  stand  alone 
amongst  men,  unless  in  those  who  already  have  faith 
in  God  through  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ }  A  Christian, 
who  may  obtain  the  breath  of  the  Spirit  in  his  sail, 
should  not  helplessly  glide  down  with  the  stream. 

Immoderately  late  hours  do  much  to  mar  both  the 
simplicity  and  the  heart-gladness  of  social  meals.  That 
very  lateness,  I  confess,  constitutes  an  essential  ele- 
ment in  the  kind  of  merriment  which  a  vitiated  appe- 
tite demands:  but  it  is  fatal  to  the  calm,  deep  joy  ful- 
ness which  corresponds  with  our  position  as  disciples 
of  Christ,  or  even  as  the  intelligent  creatures  of  God. 
To  turn  night  into  day,  and  day  into  night,  is  not  sim- 
plicity, and  cannot  promote  real  gladness.  It  is  like 
the  transactions  within  the  walls  of  a  lunatic  as\-lum, 
where  the  opinion  might  prevail,  that  people  should 
lie  in  bed  while  the  sun  shines,  and  be  active  with  gas- 


Christian    Festivity.  63 

light  during  the  night.  What  would  you  think  of  the 
gardener  who  should  cover  your  green-house  with  thick 
matting  till  noon,  and  make  up  for  the  deficiency  of  light 
by  burning  lamps  beside  the  flowers  at  midnight  ?  You 
would  dismiss  the  man  as  drunk  or  incapable  We 
should  discharge  Fashion  from  the  management  of  our 
life,  as  we  would  discharge  an  inebriate  from  the  care 
of  our  flowers  or  our  horses.  Treat  yourselves  as  you 
treat  your  gardens.  "  Behold  the  lilies  of  the  field, 
how  they  grow."  Young  men  and  young  women  would 
be  more  like  the  lilies  in  freshness  and  beauty  if  they  fol- 
lowed nature  more  closely:  and  they  would  gain  as 
much  in  strength  of  mind,  as  in  comeliness  of  person. 

I  have  not  yet  alluded  to  that  which  in  our  country 
and  our  day  constitutes  by  far  the  greatest  danger  in 
connection  with  festivity, — the  free  use,  often  running 
over  into  the  vile  abuse,  of  highly  concentrated  intox- 
icants. There  is  ground  for  joy  and  thankfulness  in 
the  comparative  freedom  from  excess  which  generally 
characterizes  the  entertainments  of  the  more  cultivated 
classes  in  the  present  day.  A  portion  also  of  the  hum- 
bler classes  have  emancipated  themselves  completely 
from  the  bondage  of  intemperance:  but  very  large  num- 
bers, ranging  from  the  lowest  to  the  highest  as  to  so- 
cial position,  are  miserably  enslaved.  The  numbers 
of  this  class,  alas,  are  continually  recruited  from  the 
ranks  of  the  rising  generation,  through  the  influence 
of  social  customs,  and  the  dangerous  power  of  the  stim- 
ulants in  ordinary  use.  Efforts,  zealous  and  protracted, 
to  restrict  the  traffic  on  the  one  hand,  and  to  persuade 
to  personal  abstinence  on  the  other,  have  shown  as  yet 
only  very  limited  results.  An  accumulation  of  sin  and 
shame,  of  poverty  and  crime,  proceeding  from  the  in- 
temperate use  of  stimulants,  lies  on  the  nation  and 
the  Church  most  appalling  in  the  aggregate,  and  heart- 
rending in  the  contemplation  of  its  multiform  details. 

Here  is  a  subject  eminently  worthy  of  a  Christian's 
regard,  especially  at  festive  seasons,  and  in  connection 
with  social  joyful  assemblages.  After  all  the  efforts 
that  benevolent  men  and  public  institutions  have  been 
able  to  put  forth,  an  evil  of  fearful  magnitude  remains, 
— a  work  of  incalculable  difficulty  still  demands  the 
help  of  all  who  fear  God  and  regard  man.     Mow  shall 


54  The   CJnii-ch   in   the  House. 

the  disciples  of  Christ  most  effectually  bring  each  his 
own  influence  to  bear  against  this  devastating  vice  ? 
I  shall  not  presume  to  supply  an  answer.  The  wisdom 
that  shall  answer  this  question  seems  not  yet  to  have 
come  to  the  Church:  the  Church  must  learn  to  feel 
deeply  the  lack  of  wisdom  adequate  to  the  crisis,  and 
to  ask  the  supply  from  God.  But  in  the  meantime, 
failing  an  answer,  I  should  count  the  cause  half  won, 
if  each  brother  and  sister  of  the  Christian  family  were 
led,  in  godly  simplicity  and  without  passion  or  preju- 
dice, to  entertain  the  question.  Questions  are  some- 
times most  precious  and  practically  effective,  although 
the  answer  cannot  yet  be  given.  When  Christians  shall 
individually  and  collectively  cease  to  regulate  generally 
their  lives,  and  particularly  their  entertainments,  by  the 
mere  mandate  of  the  world's  fashion,  issuing  like  a  Del- 
phic oracle,  without  a  reason  from  an  unknown  God, 
and  begin  to  mold  their  actions,  great  and  small,  by  a 
glad,  free,  deliberate  purpose,  in  a  matrix  constituted 
of  the  twin  motives  which  bind  heaven  and  ea-rth  to- 
gether,— serving  the  Lord  that  bought  us,  and  saving 
our  brother  lost;  then  shall  the  lowest  point  have  been 
reached  and  passed, — then  shall  Society,  like  the  earth 
after  Christmas,  creep  gradually  out  of  its  winter  dark- 
ness, and  creep  forward  to  its  perfect  day.  These  two — • 
my  Redeemer's  servant,  and  rny  brother's  keeper — are 
the  hedges  on  the  right  and  left  of  a  believer's  path, 
between  which,  if  they  are  kept  up,  he  may  walk  through 
the  wilderness,  without  fear  of  wandering  from  the  way. 
It  is  a  happy  thing  to  have  a  purpose, — a  purpose 
that  is  pure  and  lovely, — that  you  can  present  to  your 
own  conscience  and  to  God,  that  you  can  prosecute 
in  secret  without  meanness,  or  avow  in  public,  if  need 
be,  without  shame,  running  through  your  life  and  bring- 
ing all  into  harmony.  And,  so  far  from  being  inap- 
propriate if  applied  to  the  lesser  and  lighter  enterprises 
of  life,  it  is  precisely  in  these  that  it  contributes  most 
to  safety  and  satisfaction.  Graver  matters  have  a  cer- 
tain weight  in  themselves  that  contributes  to  their  so- 
lidity; the  lighter  leaves  of  life  need  more  a  sustaining 
thread  running  through  the  whole.  I  call  on  Christians 
in  festive  seasons,  and  in  festive  companies,  not  to  sub- 
mit to  the  restraints  of  duty,  but  rather  to  enjoy  freely 


Ai  oiict'   Godly  and  Popular.  65 

their  privilege.  It  is  not  required,  it  is  not  permitted, 
that  you  should  leave  Christ  at  the  door  when  you 
enter  the  Guest  Chamber.  If  you  leave  him  without 
when  }-ou  ijo  in  to  the  feast,  you  need  not  expect  to 
find  him  within,  your  Intercessor,  when  you  enter  your 
closet  and  shut  the  door,  and  pray,  to  the  Father  in 
secret.  Those  who  trust  in  Christ  for  the  greatest 
things,  have  the  right  to  lean  on  him  for  the  least. 
Accept  the  food  as  the  Father's  gift;  accept  the  feast 
as  an  act  of  his  bounty;  accept  the  company  of  your 
kind,  knit  to  your  heart  either  by  the  bonds  of  nature 
or  the  bonds  of  grace;  accept  that  gladness  of  heart 
which  the  Maker  of  men  has  connected  with  a  social 
meal.  It  is  a  needful  and  a  useful  part  of  Christian 
witness-bearing  in  these  days  to  exhibit  meekly,  but 
legibly,  on  our  conduct  generally,  that,  while  the  world 
and  the  things  of  the  world  are  not  permitted  to  be- 
come our  masters,  we  are  not  prohibited  from  using 
them  as  servants;  and  in  particular,  that  the  "glad- 
ness," which  food  eaten  in  congenial  company  imparts 
to  a  human  heart,  so  far  from  being  the  exclusive  prop- 
erty of  the  profane  and  careless,  cannot  possibly  be  in 
its  integrity  enjoyed  by  them,  precisely  because  of  their 
profanity  and  carelessness,  but  belongs,  by  the  Father's 
gift  and  the  children's  unsuspecting  appropriation,  to 
the  whole  family  of  God. 


XIII. 

AT  ONCE  GODLY  AND  POPULAR. 

"Praising  God,  and  having  favor  loith  all  the  people.    And  the  L^ord  added 
to  the  church  daily  such  as  should  be  saved.'" — Acts  II.  47. 

"Praising  God:"  behold  the  natural  history  of  the 
regeneration.  Those  who  are  bought  with  a  price  are 
constrained  to  glorify  God.  "In  everything  by  prayer 
and  supplication  with  thankso^iving  let  your  requests  be 
made  known  unto  God."  The  thanksgiving  is  a  con- 
stituent element  of  prayer.  If  the  prescription  is  made 
up  without  this  ingredient,  it  is  ineffectual:   mere  pre- 


56  The   Church   in  'the  House. 

scription  however  will  never  produce  true  thanksgiving: 
the  gratitude  which  comes  only  through  prompting  is 
not  gratitude.  The  real  emotion  is  spontaneous,  and 
could  not  be  restrained.  As  soon  as  Israel  get  through 
the  Red  Sea,  they  cluster  on  the  cliffs  and  make  the 
desert  ring  with  their  jubilant  psalm,  "Sing  unto  the 
Lord ;  for  he  hath  triumphed  gloriously."  Who  can  for- 
bid a  song,  when  persons  or  peoples  are  redeemed  by 
the  blood  of  Christ,  and  satisfied  with  bread  from  a 
heavenly  Father's  hand,  thattheirpent-upemotionsmay 
get  vent  .•*  This  is  the  kind  of  thanksgiving  that  breaks 
forth  from  loving  hearts  on  earth  and  reaches  the  throne 
of  heaven, — the  thanks,  not  that  you  draw  out,  but  that 
you  could  not  keep  in. 

"  Having  favor  with  all  the  people."  In  the  first  stage 
of  their  progress  immediately  after  Pentecost,  the  Chris- 
tian converts  were  not  persecuted.  The  people  looked 
on,  admiring,  applauding.  They  saw  a  beauty  in  holi- 
ness, when  holiness  in  those  revival  days  had  the  dew 
of  its  youth  upon  it,  and  were  betrayed  for  the  moment 
into  an  admiration  of  a  goodness  which  themselves  had 
not  attained.  This  phenomenon  is  eminently  worthy 
of  observation.  On  the  surface  lies  a  difficulty;  but  from 
beneath  a  precious  lesson  may  be  drawn.  In  the  mat- 
ter of  favor  or  enmity  shown  by  the  world,  two  opposite 
experiences  alternate  in  the  history  of  the  Church.  Prov- 
idential administration  does  not  proceed  uniformly  on 
one  method;  the  way  of  the  Lord,  rather,  is  to  balance 
two  opposites,  so  as  to  make  them  work  together  for 
good.  When  hope  and  holiness  adorn  the  character  of 
disciples,  the  world  outside  sometimes  admire  and  ap- 
plaud, sometimes  revile  and  persecute.  It  is  not  possible 
to  construct  a  general  rule  by  which  it  could  be  deter- 
mined beforehand  iii  any  given  case  whether  the  world 
will  favor  or  frown  on  a  company  of  true  disciples.  \i 
there  be  a  law  that  determines  the  sequences  of  these 
alternate  courses,  it  lies  beyond  our  reach.  We  might, 
indeed,  conclude  on  general  principles  that  neither  the 
one  nor  the  other  would  be  permitted  uniformly  to  pre- 
vail. If  true  godliness  should  always  and  in  all  places 
obtain  the  favor  of  the  world,  counterfeits  would  spring 
up  in  such  strength  and  abundance  as  would  suffice 
absolutely  to  smother  and  destroy  the  truth;  and,  on 


Af  ofUi'   Godly  and  Popular.  6/ 

Ibc  ether  hand,  if  godliness  should  always,  and  in  all 
places,  bring-  down  the  world's  enmity,  the  spark  of 
Divine  truth  in  humanity  might  be  quenched,  and  the 
gates  of  hell  at  last  prevail  to  blot  out  Christ's  name 
from  the  earth.  The  Head  on  high  holds  the  balance 
in  his  own  hands.  He  permits  as  much  of  the  wrath  of 
man  to  break  forth  as  suffices  to  praise  himself  by  purg- 
ing his  Church  of  its  hypocrisy,  and  then  he  restrains 
the  remainder  thereof. 

Although  we  could  not,  in  the  first  instance,  have 
invented  this  method,  we  are  able  to  perceive,  when 
we  see  it  exemplified  in  history,  that  it  is  the  best. 
When  a  spark  is  imbedded  in  the  flax  and  it  begins  to 
smoke,  a  blast  permitted  to  burst  upon  it  would  blow 
it  out;  therefore,  the  blast  is  by  Divine  command  re- 
strained. But  after  the  fire  has  fairly  caught,  the 
blast  will  spread  the  flame,  and,  therefore,  it  is  per- 
mitted to  blow.  The  Lord  will  not  permit  the  smok- 
ing flax  to  be  quenched  by  a  premature  severity.  He 
commands  a  calm  till  the  fire  take  hold,  and  then  per- 
mits a  tempest  to  make  the  fire  spread.  In  those  first 
da\-s  after  the  Pentecost,  the  Christians  were  not  per- 
secuted. Many  were  added  to  the  Church,  and  the 
faith  of  the  members  was  confirmed.  When  the  spark 
had  made  some  advancement  in  a  calm,  the  storm  that 
afterwards  arose,  did  not  blow  it  out,  but  blew  it  in. 
Both  these  principles  may  be  seen  alternately  operat- 
ing in  society  at  the  present  day.  In  some  cases  god- 
liness wins  favor;  in  others  it  stirs  enmity.  All  is  in 
the  Lord's  hand;  disciples  may  well  pray  with  Agur 
that  in  this  matter  he  would  give  them  neither  pov- 
erty nor  riches: — neither  too  much  of  the  world's  fii- 
vor,  nor  too  little,  lest  grace  should  be  choked  under 
the  weight  of  its  embrace,  or  withered  by  the  scorch- 
ing of  its  anger. 

If  the  rule  were  absolute,  The  more  likeness  to 
Christ,  the  more  favor  from  the  world,  the  faith  of  the 
Church,  like  corn  sown  in  land  too  fat,  would  grow 
rank,  cleave  to  the  earth  and  bear  nothing  but  chaff. 
If  on  the  other  hand  the  rule  were  absolute,  The  more 
likeness  to  Christ,  the  more  persecution  from  the 
world,  the  faith  of  the  Church,  like  corn  sown  on  a 
mountain-top,  would  wither  long  before  the  harvest. 


58  The   Church   in   the  House. 

We  cannot  in  any  case  tell  beforehand  whether  a 
true  exhibition  of  the  Christian  character  will  concili- 
ate kindness  or  provoke  enmity;  as  we  cannot  tell  to- 
day whether  the  wind  to-morrow  will  blow  from  the 
East  or  the  West:  but  both  the  winds  of  heaven  and 
the  hearts  of  men  are  under  law  to  God  although  we 
cannot  detect  the  law  or  predict  the  result. 

"  And  the  Lord  added  to  the  Church  daily  such  as 
should  be  saved."  Here  again  we  have  a  thing  with 
two  sides:  all  real  things  have  two  sides.  The  Lord 
added  them;  and  yet  they  added  themselves.  The 
Good  Shepherd  carried  the  stray  sheep  home  on  his 
shoulders;  and  yet  the  prodigal  walked  home  on  his 
own  feet.  The  sheep  and  the  prodigal  in  these  twin 
parables  certainly  do  not  point  to  different  persons, 
but  to  two  sides  of  the  same  person.  On  one  side,  the 
upper,  it  is  the  Lord's  doing:  on  the  other  side,  the 
lower,  it  is  the  man's.  In  this  verse  we  read  the  his- 
toric fact,  "The  Lord  added  them:"  and  in  the  con- 
text we  hear  the  Divine  command,  "Save  yourselves." 
At  one  place  the  saved  are  "  whosoever  shall  call  on 
the  najne  of  the  Lord:"  at  another  they  are,  "as  many 
as  the  Lord  our  God  shall  call." 

When  I  know  myself  to  be  like  a  withered  leaf  on 
the  stream  that  flows  to  a  sea  of  perdition,  it  is  sweet 
to  think  that  help  is  laid  on  One  that  is  mighty,  and 
to  hope  that  when  I  am  utterly  helpless  the  Lord  adds 
me  to  his  Body,  the  Church, — to  himself,  the  Church's 
Head. .  My  comfort  in  temptation  springs  not  from 
consciousness  of  my  own  strength  to  hold  by  him,  but 
from  knowledge  of  his  strength  to  hold  me.  But  woe 
to  the  man,  who  with  no  liking  for  the  presence  of  the 
Lord  or  the  company  of  his  people — no  willingness  to 
crucify  the  flesli,  and  press  through  the  narrow  gate, 
dares  to  comfort  himself  in  his  coldness  and  worldli- 
ness  with  the  thought.  It  is  not  in  my  power  to  make 
myself  better,  I  must  wait  till  the  Lord  put  forth  his 
strength.  Nay,  brother:  the  Lord  is  ready  now  to  do 
it,  if  you  were  willing  that  it  should  be  done. 

"  Daily:  "  every  day  some.  There  is  no  blank  in  the 
birth  registers  of  God's  family.  The  Lamb's  Book  of 
Life  has  a  page  for  every  day  of  time,  and  names  in 


A/  once   Godly  and  Popular.  69 

ever)'  page.  I  suppose  some  of  the  pages  arc  more 
crowdetl  than  others.  At  that  first  Pentecost,  as  at 
many  seasons  since,  they  came  as  doves  to  their  win- 
dows, a  great  cloud  coming  at  one  time.  At  other 
jicriods  they  seem  rather  one  here  and  one  there,  Hke 
the  gleaning  of  grapes  after  the  vintage. 

The  Romish  calendar  is  crowded  with  saints.  They 
cannot  find  room  in  the  circle  of  the  seasons,  for  all 
whom  the  pope  delighted  to  honor.  But  there  are  more 
real  saints  written  in  heaven  than  false  ones  in  Romish 
heraldry.  Daily,  ever  since  men  were  multiplied  on 
the  earth,  have  the  saved  streamed  through  the  strait 
gate  into  life,  and  now  a  multitude  whom  no  man  can 
number  inhabit  the  mansions  of  the  Father's  house. 

He  added  the  saved  to  the  Church:  added  them  in 
the  act  of  saving,  saved  in  the  act  of  adding.  He  does 
not  add  a  withered  branch  to  the  vine;  but  in  the  act 
of  inserting  it,  makes  the  withered  branch  live.  When 
pure  water  is  drawn  from  the  salt  sea,  it  is  added  to 
the  clouds  in  heaven.  In  being  drawn  from  the  salt 
sea,  these  fresh  drops  are  added  to  the  white  clouds  of 
the  sky.  It  is  thus  that  the  Lord  adds  the  saved  to 
the  Church,  winning  them  from  a  sea  of  wickedness, 
and  leaving  their  bitterness  behind. 

"  Daily"  some  are  added:  every  day  some;  but  only 
while  it  is  day  this  process  goes  on.  The  night  cometh 
wherein  no  man  can  work, — not  even  the  Son  of  Man, 
Son  of  God.  He  is  now  about  his  Father's  business: 
he  is  finishing  the  work  given  him  to  do.  He  works, 
works,  works,  in  wrenching  lost  men  from  the  devil, 
the  world,  and  the  flesh,  and  inserting  them  as  living 
members  of  his  own  body  for  eternal  life.  "To-day,  if 
)-e  will  hear  his  voice,  harden  not  your  hearts,"  for  the 
day  is  wearing  away,  the  day  of  grace.  The  night  com- 
eth, cometh; — how  stealthily  it  is  creeping  on, — the 
night  wherein  not  even  this  Great  Worker  can  work 
any  more.  In  the  last,  that  great  day  of  the  feast, 
Jesus  stood  and  cried,  "  If  any  man  thirst,  let  him  come 
unto  me  and  drink." 


70  The   Church   in   the  House. 


XIV. 

THE   USE   OF  MIRACLES. 

"  And  iu ken  Peter  satv  it,  he  ansivered  unto  the  people.  Ye  men  of  Israel, 
ivhv  tiiarvel ye  at  this  ?  or  why  look  ye  so  earnestly  on  tis,  as  though  by  our 
otun  power  or  holiness  we  had  made  this  man  to  walk  ?  The  God  of  Abra- 
ham, and  of  Isaac,  and  of  Jacob,  the  God  of  our  fathers,  hath  glorified 
his  Son  Jesus;  whom  ye  delivered  up,  and  denied  him  in  the  presence  of 
Pilate,  when  he  7vas  determined  to  let  him  go. '^ — ACTS  III.  12,  13. 

The  healing  of  the  lame  beggar  at  the  gate  Beautiful, 
as  narrated  in  verses  i-ii,  needs  no  comment.  There 
the  picture  stands,  full  bodied  as  in  the  stereoscope. 
Our  business,  like  Peter's,  lies  mainly,  not  with  the  fact, 
but  with  the  use  to  which  the  fact  was  applied  in  the 
progress  of  Christ's  kingdom. 

These  Galileans  were  not  alone.  The  words  of  the 
Lord,  "Lo,  I  am  with  you,"  were  still  sounding  in  their 
ears.  The  Master  puts  forth  the  power,  and  they  yield 
themselves  as  his  instruments.  This  is  the  footing  on 
which  the  work  proceeds.  Here,  in  the  ministry  of 
the  apostles,  as  also  in  his  own,  the  Lord  employs 
power  to  cleave  a  path  for  grace.  When  the  moun- 
tains close  in  and  block  the  way,  a  miracle  will  rend 
them,  that  the  Word  may  burst  the  barriers  and  spread 
through  the  land. 

Those  who  refuse  to  believe  in  anything  supernatural 
do  not  gain  much  at  this  point.  They  only  shift  the 
difficulty  from  one  spot  to  another.  The  fact  remains 
patent  to  the  whole  world  and  undeniable,  that  in  the 
hands  of  these  Jewish  missionaries  the  religion  of  Christ, 
with  its  self-denying  doctrines,  made  way  against  the 
culture  of  Greece  and  the  might  of  Rome, — made  way 
until  it  obtained  supremacy.  This  fact,  if  it  is  not 
based  on  miracles,  is  itself  a  miracle  greater  than  all. 

The  effect  of  this  cure  upon  the  public  was  a  great 
and  general  amazement.  Now  was  Peter's  opportunity; 
and  he  improved  it  with  promptitude  and  skill.  The 
Master  in  calling  him  had  promised  to  make  him  a 
fisher  of  men;  and  here  the  tact  and  energy  of  the 
fisher  appear.  He  knew  the  favorable  juncture.  When 
Peter  plied   his   trade  on   the   lake  of  Galilee,  he  did 


The   Use  of  Miracles.  71 

not  think  it  enough  that  he  spread  his  net  and  drew 
it,  in  the  approved  fashion,  so  many  times  every 
day.  His  business  was,  not  to  spread  his  net  in  an 
unexceptionable  manner — in  the  very  manner  that  all 
the  ablest  fishermen  in  those  parts  had  uniformly  fol- 
lowed— his  business  was  to  catch  fish;  and  toward  that 
end  he  bent  all  the  energy,  not  only  of  his  stalwart 
arm,  but  also  of  his  inventive  mind.  Peter  would  fish 
as  his  forefathers  had  fished,  if  their  method  seemed 
to  him  best;  but  he  would  fish  as  nobody  had  ever 
fished  before,  if  he  saw  that  by  a  new  method  he  could 
obtain  greater  success. 

So,  now  that  he  has  become  a  preacher  of  the  gos- 
pel, Peter  is  not  content  with  delivering,  at  the  proper 
time,  an  evangelical  sermon.  He  does  not  think  of 
the  sermon  or  the  preacher.  He  thinks  of  men  in 
their  need,  and  of  God's  grace  in  their  offer  now. 
He  rushes  in,  and  strikes  home  to  win  souls.  He 
waits  and  watches  till  he  sees  the  multitude  moved 
and  susceptible.  As  soon  as  he  perceives  some  move- 
ment on  the  gathered  waters,  he  follows  quickly  the 
angel's  steps,  lest  his  opportunity  should  slip  away. 

The  commotion  took  the  form  of  a  reverential  re- 
gard directed  upon  the  apostles  personally.  The  won- 
der that  the  people  had  witnessed  drew  their  eyes  to 
the  immediate  instruments.  At  that  moment  the  apos- 
tles, taught  by  the  Spirit,  recognized  accurately  and 
promptly  the  precise  place  and  use  of  mighty  works 
in  their  ministry.  Such  works  could  not  convert  the 
people,  but  such  works  then  held  an  important  place 
among  the  means  of  conversion.  The  miracles  broke 
up  the  hard  ground,  and  these  faithful  watchers  were 
ready  to  run  in  and  cast  the  living  seed  into  the  open 
furrow.    From  this  timely  sowing  a  great  harvest  sprang. 

Peter,  as  usual,  is  spokesman.  I  think  the  modest 
and  meditative  John  would  not  take  a  prominent  pub- 
lic place  when  Peter  was  present.  Whatever  he  may 
have  contributed  by  private  suggestion,  he  left  public 
work  to  his  more  forward  and  more  fiery  colleague. 

Mark  how  skilfully  the  speaker  begins.  It  is  no 
longer  the  affectionate  blunder,  "  Far  be  this  from 
thee.  Lord;"  it  is  no  longer  the  cowardly  falsehood, 
"  I  know  not  the  man."     He  has  now  obtained  both 


72  The   ChurcJi   in   the  Ho7ise. 

wisdom  and  strenj^th.  By  this  time  the  Holy  Ghost 
had  come  upon  him,  and  he  had  "received  power" 
to  be  a  witness  of  Christ.  He  has  courage  to  confess 
his  Master  now,  and  skill  to  arrange  his  argument 
aright. 

In  presence  of  the  healed  cripple  the  people  were 
overawed;  and  their  veneration,  after  quivering  awhile 
uncertain,  like  a  ship's  compass  in  a  broken  sea,  began 
to  settle  down  steadily  upon  Peter  and  John  as  the 
authors  of  the  miracle  and  the  objects  of  praise.  Ob- 
serving the  current  flowing  in  a  devotion  which  would 
soon  have  developed  itself  into  idolatry,  Peter  ran  in, 
and  seized  it,  and  bent  it  aside  from  the  servants  that 
it  might  flow  full  upon  the  Lord.  "  And  when  Peter 
saw  it,  he  answered  and  said  unto  the  people.  Ye  men 
of  Israel,  why  marvel  ye  at  this  }  or  why  look  ye  so 
earnestly  on  us,  as  though  by  our  own  power  or  holiness 
we  had  made  this  man  to  walk  .''  The  God  of  Abraham, 
and  of  Isaac,  and  of  Jacob,  the  God  of  our  fathers,  hath 
glorified  his  Son  Jesus,"  etc.  The  servants,  when  they 
saw  worship  springing  up  in  human  hearts,  hastily  re- 
tired, and  presented  Jesus  alone  to  receive  it. 

It  is  eminently  instructive  to  compare  and  contrast 
with  this  the  conduct  of  the  Lord  himself  in  similar 
circumstances.  When  he  had  read  the  prophecy  in  the 
synagogue  at  Nazareth  (Luke  iv.  16-22),  and  all  eyes 
were  turned  in  eager  expectation  toward  him,  he  did 
not  intercept  the  stream,  or  divert  it  into  another  chan- 
nel. He  accepted  it  in  full.  He  closed  the  book  and 
removed  it;  then  he  presented  himself  to  the  people 
as  the  fulfilment  of  the  prophecy,  and  the  expected 
Messiah.  The  absolute  contrast  between  his  method 
and  that  of  the  apostles  in  such  a  case  is  peculiarly  val- 
uable, as  showing  incidentally  the  Divinity  of  Christ. 

In  the  meantime,  Peter's  fidelity  affords  a  fine  les- 
son both  to  preachers  and  hearers  of  the  gospel  in  all 
times.  Through  the  ministers,  if  possible,  as  earthen 
vessels,  let  the  word  of  life  come;  but  let  the  ministers 
present,  and  the  people  receive,  only  the  Lord  himself 
as  the  bread  of  life. 

It  is  said  that  when  Leonardo  da  Vinci  had  finished 
his  celebrated  picture  of  the  Last  Supper,  which  still 
stands  on  the  wall  of  a  convent  in  the  citv  of  Milan. 


Wounding  to  Heal.  73 

he  introduced  a  friend  to  inspect  the  work  privately, 
and  give  his  judgment  regarding  it.  "  Exquisite  !  "  ex- 
claimed his  friend;  "that  wine-cup  seems  to  stand  out 
from  the  table  as  solid  glittering  silver."  Thereupon 
the  artist  quietly  took  a  brush  and  blotted  out  the  cup, 
saying:  "  I  meant  that  the  figure  of  Christ  should  first 
and  mainly  attract  the  observer's  eye,  and  whatever 
diverts  attention  from  him  must  be  blotted  out."  Here 
is  a  devotion  which,  in  a  more  enlightened  age,  we 
should  do  well  to  imitate. 

It  is  an  aim  of  the  ministry  to  get  listless  people 
aroused  and  interested.  It  is  a  great  point  gained  when 
a  multitude  are  gathered  together  round  the  preachers 
in  Solomon's  porch,  greatly  wondering  at  the  word  or 
the  work  of  the  Lord.  But  woe  to  the  preacher  who 
lacks  the  wisdom  or  the  will  to  lead  the  aroused  and 
interested  listeners  at  such  a  crisis  direct  to  Christ. 


XV. 

WOUNDING   TO  HEAL. 

' '  But  ye  denied  the  Holy  One  and  the  ynst,  and  desired  a  murderer  to 
be  i^-anted  unto  you;  and  killed  the  Prince  of  life,  whom  God  hath  raised 
front  the  dead;  whereof  we  are  witnesses,'''  6'/<r.  —  Acts  HI.  14-26. 

When  Peter  observed  that  his  audience  was  becoming 
tender,  he  hastened  forward  to  them  with  the  Word; 
but  it  is  not  in  the  first  instance  a  word  of  comfort 
that  he  administers.  His  first  effort  is  to  wound.  He 
brings  a  sharp  accusation;  he  heaps  coals  of  fire  on 
their  heads,  when  he  sees  these  heads  already  begin- 
ning to  droop.  Not  that  the  apostle  takes  pleasure  in 
putting  his  countrymen  to  grief  He  is  glowing  all 
over  with  love  to  these  men  of  Israel,  bone  of  his  bone 
and  flesh  of  his  flesh.  Seeing  them  already  quivering 
he  deals  another  blow,  in  the  hope  that  thereby  he 
may  break  altogether  the  already  yielding  heart;  for 
as  soon  as  the  cry,  "What  must  we  do  .'' "  shall  burst 
from  broken  hearts,  the  healing  balm  is  ready.     God 


74  ^/^^    CInircJt   in  the  House. 

"hath  glorified  his  Son  Jesus;  whom  ye  delivered  up, 
and  denied  him  in  the  presence  of  Pilate,  when  he  was 
determined  to  let  him  go."  Pilate,  the  Roman,  from 
a  natural  sense  of  justice,  desired  to  save  the  innocent; 
but  ye,  the  Israel  to  whom  he  came,  denied  him,  and 
compelled  the  governor  to  put  him  to  death.  Never 
Avas  a  sharper  sword  pointed  at  naked  breasts;  and 
never  did  a  mightier  thrust  send  the  weapon  home  to 
the  marrow:  "Ye  killed  the  Prince  of  life."  But  it  is 
the  Physician  and  not  the  enemy  who  is  piercing  here. 
He  wounds  in  order  that  the  distressed  may  seek  the 
Healer.  At  verse  17th  he  changes  his  voice.  He 
withdraws  the  weapon  as  soon  as  its  work  is  done. 
As  soon  as  the  preacher  sees  that  the  dividing  Word 
has  taken  effect,  he  begins  to  give  consolation.  I 
think  it  was  Whitefield  who,  when  his  audience  of  coal- 
miners  was  so  large  that  he  could  not  read  in  the  dis- 
tant faces  the  emotions  of  their  hearts,  perceived  by  cer- 
tain white  streaks,  like  African  tattoo,  made  by  cours- 
ing tears  on  sable  cheeks,  that  the  Word  had  cut  into 
the  conscience.  This  was  for  him  the  turning-point. 
The  strokes  for  wounding  may  now  safely  cease,  and 
the  healing  work  begin. 

Changing  his  voice,  Peter  the  preacher  begins  to 
insinuate  a  tender  consolation.  He  will  present  the 
truth  on  another  side.  He  had  said,  "  Ye  killed  the 
Prince  of  life:"  but  now  he  informs  them  that  it  is  of 
God  that  Christ  should  suffer  the  just  for  the  unjust. 

There  are  two  opposite  ways  in  which  the  blood  of 
Jesus  may  be  upon  men:  "His  blood  be  upon  us,  and 
upon  our  children  ! "  exclaimed  the  Jewish  leaders, 
when  they  had  hemmed  Pilate  in,  and  extorted  from 
him  the  sentence  of  death.  Ah  !  that  was  not  the 
blood  of  sprinkling  for  the  pardon  of  sin.  It  was  the 
blood  of  Christ  upon  them,  but  it  did  not  cleanse.  It 
v.Ms  the  blood  of  the  curse,  not  the  blood  of  blessing. 
Ax.  first,  and  for  a  specific  purpose,  Peter  speaks  of  the 
blood  of  Christ  in  that  evil  sense.  He  takes  it  and 
pours  it  on  the  murderers'  heads,  a  scorching  flood. 
But  when  the  work  of  conviction  is  done,  he  addresses 
himself  to  the  work  of  saving;  he  takes  that  same 
blood  in  his  other  hand,  and  pours  it  out  for  blessing. 
The  blood  of  Christ,  although  shed  by  them,  is  pre- 


Wounding  to  Heal.  75 

sented  now  as  the  blood  shed  for  them — is  presented 
now  not  as  their  sin,  but  as  their  redemption  from  sin. 

It  was  a  great  transition;  and  it  was  suddenly  made. 
But  the  same  transition  all  the  .new-born  make;  and 
most  of  them  make  it  quickly.  It  is  like  a  leap  from 
Christ  crucified  by  you,  into  Christ  crucified  for  you. 
From  trampling  under-foot  the  blood  of  the  covenant, 
they  pass  over  to  take  shelter,  like  the  Hebrews  in 
Egypt,  under  the  besprinkled  lintel,  safe  from  the  an- 
gel of  death,  and  ready  to  march  out  free  towards  the 
promised  land. 

"Now,  brethren,  I  wot  that  through  ignorance  ye 
did  it":  and  so  he  opens  up  to  the  convicted  a  door  of 
hope.  The  drift  of  the  discourse  changes  to  tender- 
ness. So,  when  the  frost  has  congealed  the  ground 
into  rock,  the  sun  and  rain  beating  on  it  make  it 
broken  and  contrite  ground — a  fitting  soil  for  the  seed 
of  the  kingdom. 

Then  in  verse  i8th  the  preacher  carefully  engrafts 
his  gospel  upon  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  Testament: 
"But  those  things,  which  God  before  had  showed  by 
the  mouth  of  all  his  prophets,  that  Christ  should  suf- 
fer, he  hath  so  fulfilled."  The  New  Testament  grows 
upon  the  Old,  like  branches  in  the  root  and  stem.  If 
you  undermine  Moses,  Christ,  as  far  as  you  are  con- 
cerned, will  fall.  Chaos  will  return.  Darkness  will 
again  be  on  the  face  of  the  deep,  and  no  Spirit  of  God 
will  move  upon  the  waters. 

Those  who  eat  out,  by  acid  drops  of  criticism,  the 
authority  of  the  Old  Testament,  intending  to  hold  fast 
by  Christ  and  his  gospel,  are  victims  of  a  delusion. 
These  blessed  flowers  and  fruits  cannot  grow  on  a  dead 
root. 

When  I  was  young,  I  took  pleasure  in  ornamenting 
the  front  of  my  father's  cottage  with  flowers.  One  par- 
ticular effort  was  eminently  successful,  and  attracted 
the  notice  of  every  visitor.  By  budding,  I  inserted 
several  fine  kinds  of  roses  on  one  common  root.  For 
two  or  three  years  the  flowers  of  various  hues,  flourish- 
ing simultaneously  on  one  stem,  became  a  spectacle  to 
the  rural  neighborhood.  But,  alas  !  the  original  stem, 
not  chosen  as  suitable  for  the  purpose,  but  adopted  as 
it   happened    to    be    there,    was   not   a   hardy   species. 


7$  The   CJiiirch   in  the  House. 

There  came  a  night  of  severe  frost.  The  plant  that 
sustained  my  beautiful  branches  died,  and  all  my  beau- 
tiful branches  died  with  it.  Alas  !  for  men  in  whose 
hearts  the  Divine  authority  of  Moses  and  the  prophets 
is  withered  by  the  frost  of  a  hard,  cold,  earthly  philos- 
ophy. Faith  cannot  grow  upon  Kant  and  Hegel,  when 
God  has  departed  from  Moses  and  the  Psalms  ! 

That  is  not  the  first  of  Christ  when  the  Babe  is 
born  in 'Bethlehem.  Before  the  foundation  of  the  world 
he  took  his  people's  place  in  the  eternal  counsel.  As 
soon  as  men  needed  a  Saviour  he  appeared  for  salva- 
tion in  the  promise  spoken  at  the  gate  of  Eden.  Christ 
interpenetrates  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  Testament 
through  and  through.  The  Plant  of  Renown  that  ap- 
peared in  man's  sight  in  the  fulness  of  time,  has  a  root 
that  goes  down  to  the  beginning.  If  you  cut  away  the 
word  which  holy  men  of  old  spake  as  they  were  moved 
by  the  Holy  Ghost,  you  cut  through  that  root,  and 
your  own  hope  withers  in  your  breast. 


XVI. 

THE  FIRST  PERSECUTION. 

<■'  And  as  tkey  spake  unto  the  people,  the  priests,  and  the  captain  of  the 
tetnple,  and  the  Saddiicees,  came  upon  them,  being  grieved  that  they  taught 
the  people,  and  preached  through  Jesus  the  resurrection  from  the  dead.  And 
they  laid  hands  on  them,  and  put  them  in  hold  unto  the  next  day:  for  it  was 
now  eventide.  Howbeit  many  of  them  which  heard  the  zuord  believed;  and 
the  number  of  the  men  was  about  five  thousand.'''' — Acts  IV.  1-4. 

The  persecution  has  begun.  Peter's  discourse  was 
rudely  interrupted.  The  preacher  was  speaking  very 
w^insome  words  (iii.  26)  when  his  mouth  was  closed.  He 
was  making  Jesus — that  new  name — sound  sweetly  in 
the  people's  ears.  He  was  making  offer  of  redemption 
to  Israel  in  the  clearest  words  and  in  the  most  tender 
spirit;  but,  "as  they  spake  unto  the  people,  the  priests, 
and  the  captain  of  the  temple,  and  the  Sadducees,  came 
upon  them."  So  it  has  happened  from  the  beginning 
hitherto:  persecutors  are  blind.  In  all  lands  and  all 
generations  they  endeavor  to  extinguish  the  light,  be- 
cause they  love  the  darkness. 


The   First  Ptrsccittio)i.  77 

The  first  persecution  of  Christ's  disciples  exhibits,  in 
its  main  characteristics,  the  type  of  all  that  have  followed. 
A  corrupt  and  cruel  priesthood,  in  possession  of  office, 
gave  the  word,  and  led  the  way;  and  they  were  never 
at  a  loss  to  find  some  "captain  of  the  temple" — some 
person  who  nominally  held  a  civil  office,  but  might  be 
employed  as  a  willing  tool. 

'Whether  the  high  priest  at  that  time  was  personally 
a  Sadducee  is  not  certainly  known;  but  it  is  evident, 
both  here  and  in  verse  17th,  that  the  sect  of  the  Sad- 
ducees  supported  the  officials  with  all  their  influence. 
These  men  of  the  short  creed  were  at  that  period  either 
in  or  out  of  office.  If  they  were  in  power,  they  wielded 
the  machinery  of  the  hierarchy  to  suppress  the  preaching ; 
if  they  were  not  in  power,  so  zealous  were  they  in  the 
work,  that  they  entered  into  alliance  with  their  rivals 
to  make  it  quick  and  sure.  Those  who  were  at  daggers 
drawn  against  each  other,  combined  to  put  this  doctrine 
and  its  preachers  down.  Herod  and  Pilate  become 
friends  in  order  that  Christ  may  be  again  crucified  in 
his  members.  Those  who  believe  very  little  may  be- 
come persecutors  as  well  as  those  who  believe  very  much. 
Sadducees  and  Pharisees  combined  against  the  gospel 
of  Christ. 

We  obtain  here  a  clear  glimpse  of  the  work  which 
these  apostles  were  engaged  in  when  they  were  thus 
interrupted:  "They  taught  the  people,  and  preached 
through  Jesus  the  rusurrection  of  the  dead."  The  infant 
Church  was  charged  with  grand  lessons,  and  she  did  not 
keep  them  secret.  From  the  first  the  apostles  made  it 
their  business  to  publish  all  they  knew.  The  resurrection 
of  the  body,  although  not  first  revealed,  was  illustrated 
and  confirmed  by  the  gospel.  After  the  Lord  had  risen, 
it  became  so  much  clearer  and  surer  that  it  seemed  to 
be  a  new  revelation. 

This  doctrine  they  taught  "in  Jesus."  Accustomed 
as  we  are  now  to  assume  the  resurrection  without  rea- 
soning, we  cannot  well  conceive  how  great  the  fact  of 
Christ's  resurrection  seemed  when  it  was  thrown  upon 
the  world.  After  the  darkness  that  had  covered  the 
nations,  and  the  comparative  dimness  of  the  light  that 
shone  in  the  Old  Testament  record,  it  seemed  in  this 
respect  a  new  world  for  humankind  when  Jesus  first 


78  The   ChnrcJi   in   the  House. 

raised  Lazarus  and  then  himself  from  the  grave.  When 
the  apostles  desired  to  teach  the  doctrine,  they  presented 
the  fact. 

These  new  teachers  addressed  their  lessons  to  "the 
people."  The  gospel,  wherever  it  is  preserved  pure, 
exhibits  a  broad  and  hearty  sympathy  with  the  mass 
of  the  community.  This  was  given  by  its  author  as  a 
mark  of  his  mission:  "to  the  poor  the  gospel  is  preached." 
It  does  not  overlook  "  the  people;"  it  does  not  oppress 
or  hoodwink  them;  it  does  not  keep  them  in  ignorance 
in  order  to  make  them  docile  to  authority:  it  teaches 
them.  It  appeals  to  their  understanding  while  it  wins 
their  hearts.  "The  comm.on  people  heard  Him  gladly;" 
and  well  they  might  then,  well  they  may  now.  "  If 
the  Son  make  you  free,  ye  shall  be  free  indeed:"  there 
is  no  other  security  for  popular  liberty.  Wherever  the 
Word  of  God  is  concealed,  the  people  are  oppressed. 

The  gospel  is  not  an  eclectic,  aristocratic  system. 
There  is  no  respect  of  persons  with  God.  His  word 
addresses  itself  to  the  common  people,  to  enlighten, 
emancipate,  and  purify  them;  but  it  never  flatters  their 
prejudices,  or  palliates  their  sins. 

The  apostles  elevated  the  poor  man  by  teaching 
him,  in  Jesus,  his  own  immortality.  They  might  well 
get  the  ears  of  the  multitude  when  they  had  such  a 
tale  to  tell.  This  doctrine  raises  the  poor  from  the 
dust,  and  sets  them  among  princes.  These  preachers 
were  truly  levellers;  but  they  "levelled  up."  They 
made  all  equal,  not  by  materially  bringing  down  the 
high,  but  by  spiritually  elevating  the  lowest  to  the 
place  and  name  of  God's  dear  children. 

It  grieved  this  heterogeneous  band  of  Pharisees  and 
Sadducees  to  observe  that  these  grand  lessons  were 
taught  to  the  multitude.  It  is  sad  in  any  case  to  be 
in  such  a  state  of  mind  as  to  grieve  over  a  neighbor's 
good.  But  there  was  a  measure  of  conscientiousness 
in  these  primitive  persecutors.  They  thought  they  were 
doing  God  service.  It  is  this  vein  of  truth  and  reality 
running  through  it  that  has  imparted  to  persecution 
its  perseverance  and  its  power.  The  most  fearful  crimes 
are  perpetrated  at  the  instigation  of  conscience,  when 
it  is  dark  and  depraved.  Conscience  is  not  a  safe  guide 
for  man  if  it  be  not  enlightened  and  purified  by  the  Word 


The   First  Pirsccution.  79 

and  Spirit  of  God.  Not  conscience,  but  the  Scriptures 
spiritually  understood  and  conscientiously  applied,  are 
the  rule  of  human  life. 

"  They  laid  hands  on  them,  and  put  them  in  hold." 
Probably  the  act  of  arrestment  was  performed  by  "the 
captain  of  the  temple,"  on  a  hint  from  the  hii^h  priest. 
Like  their  successors  of  Rome,  they  found  it  convenient 
to  have  a  pliant  magistrate  at  hand  as  their  executor. 
The  apostles  did  not  on  this  occasion  dispute  the  au- 
thority under  which  they  suffered.  These  priests  pos- 
sessed' jurisdiction,  but  they  did  not  judge  righteous 
judgment.  They  imprisoned  the  apostles  in  the  mean- 
time, and  adjourned  the  case. 

"  Howbeit,  many  of  them  which  heard  the  word  be- 
lieved." Man  proposes,  but  God  disposes.  The  more 
that  the  adversaries  attempted  to  extinguish  the  light, 
the  more  brightly  it  blazed.  "The  number  of  the  men 
was  about  five  thousand."  Probably  at  this  time  two 
thousand  were  added  to  the  three  thousand  who  were 
formerly  admitted  into  the  Church.  The  specific  term 
"men"  in  this  case  may  be  used  in  the  looser  sense 
of  persons;  or  it  may  be  that  no  women  were  present. 

Already  the  Christians  were  a  large  family.  The 
corn  of  wheat  had  fallen  into  the  ground  and  died,  there- 
fore it  is  not  now  left  alone.  A  great  harvest  has  quickly 
sprung.  Christ  exalted,  sees  here  of  the  travail  of  his 
soul  and  is  satisfied.  The  stream  of  the  new-born  has 
begun  to  pour  into  the  house  of  many  mansions.  The 
stream  has  flowed  from  that  day  to  this,  without  in- 
termission, as  waters  that  fail  not,  and  yet  there  is 
room.  There  is  joy  in  heaven,  not  in  the  angels,  but 
in  their  presence — that  is,  in  Him  whom  they  all  adore 
— over  "one  sinner  that  repenteth;"  and  therefore  a 
flood  of  five  thousand  joys  that  day  filled  the  Redeemer's 
heart  on  high.  The  Shepherd  who  misses  one  sheep 
that  strays  will  not  fail  to  mark  each  prodigal  that 
returns.  Each  entrant  adds  another  articulate  delight 
to  him  who  bought  them  with  his  blood.  The  joy  set 
before  him — the  joy  made  up  of  the  aggregate  of  all 
the  saved,  as  the  ocean  is  composed  of  water-drops — ■ 
was  very  great;  and  for  the  sake  of  it  he  endured  the 
cross  and  despised  the  shame. 

These   re\'ival   seasons,  when   they  come   in    thou- 


8o  TJie   Church   in   the  House. 

sands,  like  doves  to  their  windows,  will  be  happy  eras, 
marked  as  harvest-homes  in  heaven.  The  gate  is  open: 
many  are  pressing  in.  Come:  whosoever  will,  let  him 
come.  There  is  pleasant  company  by  the  way,  and  an 
abundant  entrance  at  the  close.  Reader,  when  He 
maketh  up  his  many  jewels,  will  you  and  I  be  there  .'' 
"  Now  is  the  accepted  time:  now  is  the  day  of  salvation." 


XVII. 

ADD    TO    YOUR  FAITH,    COURAGE. 

"  And  whefi  they  had  set  them  in  the  midst,  they  asked.  By  lohat  power, 
or  by  what  name,  have  ye  done  this  ?  Then  Peter,  filled  with  the  Holy 
Ghost,  said  unto  them.  Ye  rulers  of  the  people,  and  elders  of  Israel,  if  we 
this  day  be  examined  of  the  good  deed  done  to  the  impotent  man,  by  what 
means  he  is  made  whole;  be  it  knoT.vn  tinto  you  all,  and  to  all  the  people  of 
Israel,  that  by  the  name  of  yesits  Christ  of  Nazareth,  ivhom  ye  crucified, 
whom  God  raised  from  the  dead,  even  by  him  doth  this  man  stand  here  before 
you  whole.  This  is  the  stone  which  was  set  at  nought  ot  you  builders,  which 
is  become  the  head  of  the  corner.  Neither  is  there  salvation  in  any  other, 
for  there  is  none  other  name  under  heaven  given  among  men,  whereby  we 
must  be  saved.  N'ot.u  when  they  saiu  the  boldness  of  Peter  and  fohn,  and 
fierceived  that  they  ivere  unlearned  and  ignorant  men,  they  marvelled;  and 
they  took  knozuledge  of  them,  that  they  had  been  with  Jesus.'''' — Acts  IV. 
7-13- 

The  key-note  of  the  last  stanza  is  still  sounding  in  our 
ears:  the  number  of  the  men — saved  men — was  about 
five  thousand.  These  more  crowded  parts  in  the  way 
of  life  are  memorable  in  earth  and  heaven.  The  ex- 
panse of  time  when  it  is  over  will,  in  the  Saviour's  eye, 
be  like  the  expanse  of  heaven  now  in  ours:  the  milky 
way,  everywhere  bright,  exhibits  at  some  places  a  glory 
that  excelleth,  where  revolving  worlds,  like  dust  of 
gold,  are  more  thickly  strewn  upon  the  blue.  That 
day  when  the  first  stroke  of  persecution  fell  on  the  first 
preachers  will  be  a  bright  day  in  the  annals  of  the  king- 
dom. The  page  allotted  to  it  in  the  sealed  book  will 
be  deeply  laden.  In  the  family  register  it  is  the  birth- 
day of  many  sons. 

"  On  the  morrow  "  the  court  sat,  and  the  panels 
were  called  to  the  bar.  The  Sanhedrim  seems  at  that 
time  to  have  been  packed  by  the  relatives  and  partisans 


Add  to  your  Faith,   Courage.  8 1 

of  the  high  priest.  The  accused  had  nothing  to  expect 
from  their  judges;  but  they  trusted  in  God,  and  pos- 
sessed their  souls  in  patience.  Referring  to  the  cure 
of  the  cripple,  the  court  demanded  of  the  apostle  in 
what  kind  of  power  and  in  what  kind  of  name  they  had 
effected  that  miracle  of  healing.  The  Jewish  leaders, 
during  the  life  and  ministry  of  Jesus,  in  order  to  explain 
his  miracles,  broached  the  theory  that  by  aid  of  the 
devil  he  cast  the  devils  out.  It  is  probably  an  idea  of 
this  kind  that  suggests  the  question  of  the  court. 

A  third  time  Peter  speaks,  and  a  third  time  bears  wit- 
ness for  Christ  with  great  fulness  and  boldness.  These 
successive  witness-bearings  of  Peter  are  all  framed  on 
one  model,  all  strike  the  same  note.  In  every  one  there 
is — 1st,  A  Scriptural  argument,  more  or  less  full,  iden- 
tifying Jesus  with  the  Messiah  of  the  prophets;  2nd, 
A  plain,  piercing  charge,  laying  the  guilt  of  crucifying 
Christ  to  the  door  of  his  audience  and  judges;  and,  3rd, 
A  tender  and  pressing  offer  of  mercy,  through  the  blood 
of  Christ,  to  his  murderers. 

Like  his  three  confessions,  Peter's  three  denials  also 
were  all  conceived  in  the  same  strain.  With  circum- 
stantial differences,  they  were  substantially  the  same: 
"  I  know  not  the  man;  I  know  him  not;  I  know  not  what 
thou  sayest." 

How  like  each  other,  too,  were  the  Lord's  three 
questions  addressed  to  Peter  in  order  to  complete  his 
restoration  }  Thrice  the  question  pierced  the  repent- 
ing disciple's  ear,  "  Simon,  son  of  Jonas,  lovest  thou 
me  .' "  and  thrice  the  answer  echoed  from  the  repent- 
ing disciple's  burning  heart,  "  Lord,  thou  knowest  that 
I  love  thee."  By  the  same  spirit  this  apostle,  strong 
now  by  faith,  emits  the  threefold  confession  of  his  Lord. 

These  were  not  the  only  occasions  on. which  Peter 
bore  testimony  to  Christ  in  the  beginning  of  the  gospel. 
Both  he  and  his  fellow-laborers  did  much  that  has  not 
been  recorded;  but  I  think  it  is  of  the  Lord  that  at 
the  outset  of  his  public  ministry  three  successive  con- 
fessions of  Peter's  faith  have  been  recorded  in  full.  He 
had  fallen  more  than  any  of  the  faithful  eleven;  and 
correspondingly  fuller  evidence  is  given  that  he  had 
not  fallen  away — that  through  the  intercession  of  the 
Lord  his  backsliding  had  been  completely  healed. 


82  The   C /lurch  in  the  Hotise. 

After  this  period,  although  Peter  appears  as  a  per- 
former of  miracles,  an  exhorter  of  believing  Jews,  and 
a  messenger  to  a  Gentile  family,  he  does  not  come  for- 
ward again  in  this  history  as  a  public  preacher.  He 
gives  place  first  to  Stephen,  next  to  Philip,  and  ultimate- 
ly to  Paul  and  his  missionary  associates. 

The  most  remarkable  feature  in  the  three  successive 
examples  of  Peter's  preachingis  the  indictment,  charged 
directly  home  upon  the  consciences  of  his  hearers,  that 
they  were  the  crucifiers  of  Christ  (Acts  ii.  23 ;  iii.  14,  15; 
iv.  10).  He  found  that  this  sharp  method  was  success- 
ful the  first  time,  and  therefore  repeated  it.  It  was 
thus  that  Nelson's  victories  were  won.  When  the  en- 
emy's ships  were  extended  in  a  line  before  him,  he  formed 
his  into  a  column,  pierced  their  line  with  its  point,  and 
fought  them  from  the  other  side.  Finding  this  method 
successful,  he  always  followed  it. 

The  boldness  of  Peter  as  a  witness  here  is  amply  ac- 
counted for  by  the  intimation  that  he  was  "  full  of  the 
Holy  Ghost."  The  Master  had  fulfilled  his  promise, 
and  the  servant  was  thereby  enabled  to  execute  his 
task.  Cause  and  effect  are  as  clearly  connected  in  this 
experience  as  in  the  processes  of  Nature.  Wanting  the 
Spirit,  Peter  was  not  able  to  bear  witness  for  the  Lord 
in  the  presence  of  a  serving-maid;  with  the  Spirit,  Peter 
held  his  judges  fascinated  by  the  glance  of  his  eye, 
while  he  pierced  them  with  his  word.  This  apostle 
e.xperienced  the  truth  of  Paul's  paradox  on  both  its 
sides:  "  When  I  am  weak,  then  am  I  strong;"  and  when 
I  am  strong,  then  I  am  weak. 

Peter  interprets  the  prophecy  about  the  Stone  re- 
jected by  the  builders  as  Jesus  had  interpreted  it  in  his 
hearing  (Matt.  xxi.).  He  applied  it  directly  to  the 
Messiah  whom  the  Jewish  priests  had  slain;  and  added, 
"  Neither  is  there  salvation  in  any  other."  There  has 
been  at  various  periods  much  foolish  disputation  on  tlie 
question  whether  there  be  any  salvation  beyond  the 
pale  of  the  Pope's  Church.  Away  with  all  these  pro- 
fane babblings  !  It  is  not  out  of  this  Church  or  out  of 
that;  it  is.  Out  of  Christ  there  is  no  salvation.  This  is 
the  only  limit  that  God  has  set:  it  is  blasphemous  as 
well  as  foolish  to  suggest  any  other. 

Behold   the  arraigned  and  accused   man  !     He  ar- 


Add  to  your  Faith,   Courage.  83 

raigns  and  accuses  liis  judges — convicts  his  judges. 
Nay,  more,  he  stands  at  their  bar  and  offers  them 
mercy;  he  proclaims  to  them  the  free  pardon  of  their 
sin  through  the  blood  of  Jesus  whom  they  crucified; 
he  warns  them  with  tenderness  and  calmness  which 
must  have  struck  terror  into  their  hearts,  that  unless  they 
accept  mercy  by  this  channel,  no  mercy  will  ever  reach 
them.  This  Name,  this  manifestation  of  God,  is  given 
among  men.  It  comes  from  heaven  to  earth.  It  comes 
to  save,  not  to  destroy;  but  it  will  not  save  those  who 
reject  it.     By  this  Name  we  must  be  saved,  or  perish. 

The  judges  were  amazed  at  the  boldness  of  Peter 
and  John.  But  as  they  wondered,  some  one  recog- 
nized the  two  men  as  having  been  seen  in  company 
with  Jesus;  and  this  accounted  for  their  courage.  -  Com- 
panionship with  Jesus  makes  a  hero,  the  enemy  being 
judge.  But  is  there  any  need  or  room  for  heroism  in 
our  plain,  prosaic  days  .''  Persecution  for  conscience' 
sake  has,  indeed,  in  its  grosser  forms  long  ceased  in 
our  country.  We  have  no  opportunity  of  displaying 
precisely  that  form  of  courage  which  the  Sanhedrim 
observed  in  Peter  and  John.  But  heroism  is  needed 
}'et  in  the  world.  A  Christian  needs  the  boldness 
which  is  attained  only  through  companionship  with 
Jesus. 

Many  fall  miserably  in  life's  battle  for  lack  of  cour- 
age— fall  before  ignoble  foes.  It  were  less  discredit  to 
show  the  white  feather  in  presence  of  the  prison  and 
the  scaffold;  but  our  youth  strike  their  colors  to  mean- 
er terrors.  And  yet,  let  me  do  justice  to  men  of  my 
own  generation.  The  adversaries  are,  indeed,  softer 
individually,  but  they  are  mightier  in  the  m-ass.  The 
sword,  indeed,  does  not  penetrate  the  flesh;  the  fire 
does  not  wrap  itself  round  the  living  body;  but  the 
world's  course,  like  a  river  composed  of  many  soft 
drops,  rolls  downward  in  a  vast  volume,  and  carries 
even  strong  swimmers  away.  When  acts  are  weighed 
in  the  balance  of  the  upper  sanctuary,  it  may  possibly 
appear  that  as  much  boldness  is  needed  to  stand  in 
our  day,  and  withstand,  all  our  days,  the  constantly- 
sucking  stream  of  vanity  and  earthliness,  as  it  required 
at  the  beginning  of  the  gospel  to  be  faithful  unto  death 
against  principalities  and  powers.     But  the  conclusion 


84  TJic    Church    in   the  House. 

of  the  whole  matter  is,  that  near  the  Lord — consciously 
enjoying  his  favor  and  leaning  on  his  love — near  the 
Lord  we  shall  be  able  to  resist  the  greatest  of  our  en- 
emies; far  from  him,  we  shall  fall  before  the  least. 


xvin. 

EVERY  CREATURE  AFTER  ITS  KIND. 

"  And  being  let  go,  they  7vent  to  their  own  company,  and  reported  all  that 
the  chief  priests  and  elders  had  said  tint  o  them.'''' — Acts  iv.  23. 

A  SECRET,  mysterious,  reciprocal  attraction  drew  Peter 
and  John  together,  although  the  two  men  were  by  no 
means  similar  in  character.  They  were  companions  in 
their  visit  to  the  empty  sepulchre,  and  companions  in 
the  dangerous  duty  of  preaching  Christ  in  Jerusalem 
immediately  after  the  Pentecost.  Perhaps  the  differ- 
ence, or  even  the  contrast  between  them  in  natural 
disposition,  rendered  them  more  suitable  to  each  other 
for  mutual  help.  As  a  man's  strength  and  a  woman's 
gentleness  bind  two  into  one  in  married  life,  the  robust 
impetuous  Peter  clung  to  the  calm,  self-possessed  ten- 
derness of  John;  and  John,  in  his  weakness,  was  fain 
to  lean  on  Peter's  strength. 

This  noble  pair  of  brothers,  when  their  own  love  was 
warm,  and  the  hatred  of  their  enemies  sharp,  stood 
side  by  side  in  the  courts  of  the  temple  and  in  the 
streets  of  the  city,  charging  home  upon  the  Jewish  ru- 
lers and  people  with  the  terrible  indictment,  "  Ye  have 
crucified  the  Lord;"  ready,  whenever  the  sword  of  the 
Spirit  should  pierce  the  conscience  of  the  hearers,  to 
run  in  and  apply  for  healing  the  blood  of  atonement. 

Grieved  that  these  two  witnesses  should  teach  the 
people,  through  the  risen  Jesus,  the  resurrection  of  the 
dead,  the  Sanhedrim  had  arrested  Peter  and  John  at 
the  close  of  their  day's  labor,  and  shut  them  in  prison 
for  the  night. 

How  the  two  prisoners  spent  the  night  we  are  not 
informed.  Perhaps  they  sang  praises,  like  Paul  and 
Silas  at  a  later  date;  or  perhaps  they  were  not  yet  so 


Every    Creature  after  its    Kind.  85 

far  advanced.  It  may  be  they  could  not  do  more  tlian 
secretly  cast  their  burden  on  the  Lord,  without  being 
able  as  yet  to  glory  in  tribulation. 

Next  day  the  Council  called  the  prisoner.s  and  ex- 
amined them.  Having  heard  from  Peter  more  of  plain 
truth  than  was  pleasant  to  their  taste,  they  ordered 
the  panels  to  be  removed  from  the  bar,  and  consulted 
privately  regarding  the  case. 

The  aim  of  the  judges  was  not  to  arrive  at  the 
truth,  but  to  crush  the  witnesses.  There  was  not 
much  debate,  and  their  resolution  was  quickly  taken. 
They  recalled  the  prisoners,  and  straitly  threatened 
them  that  they  should  speak  thenceforth  to  no  man  in 
the  name  of  Jesus.  Lame  and  impotent  conclusion  ! 
They  omitted  the  main  element  from  their  calculation. 
They  knew  not  the  fire  that  the  love  of  Christ  had 
kindled  in  the  hearts  of  those  two  men. 

Suppose  that  some  savages  have  seen  a  cannon 
charged  and  discharged.  Suppose  that  when  they 
saw  it  charged  a  second  time,  dreading  the  conse- 
quences, they  should  gather  stones  and  clay,  and 
therewith  ram  the  cannon  full  to  the  muzzle,  by  way 
of  shutting  in  the  shot,  and  securing  the  safety  of  the 
neighborhood.  They  know  not  the  power  of  gunpow- 
der when  it  is  touched  by  a  spark.  This  is  the  sort  of 
blunder  into  which  the  Sanhedrim  fell.  They  thought 
they  could  stifle  the  testimony  of  the  apostles  by  ram- 
ming a  threat  of  punishment  down  their  throats.  They 
knew  not  the  power  of  faith  in  Christ,  when  it  is  kin- 
dled by  a  spark  from  heaven. 

Peter  and  John  did  not  deceive  their  judges.  With 
beautiful  simplicity  and  sublime  courage  they  answered, 
"  Whether  it  be  right  in  the  sight  of  God  to  hearken 
unto  you  more  than  unto  God,  judge  ye."  These  Jew- 
ish rulers  have  committed  a  blunder.  They  have 
summoned  the  sea  into  their  presence,  and  proclaimed 
to  it.  Hitherto  shalt  thou  come,  but  no  further  ! 

"We  cannot  but  speak  the  things  which  we  have 
seen  and  heard."  It  is  by  no  means  a  universal  rule 
that  every  man  is  bound  to  proclaim  all  that  he  has  seen 
and  heard.  Many  things  that  we  see  and  hear  it  is  both 
our  inclination  and  our  duty  to  conceal.  It  is  the  pecu- 
liar nature  of  the  messacfe  which  these  men  have  received 


86  TJie    CJnircJi   in   the  House. 

that  lays  an  obligation  on  them  to  make  it  known.  The 
condition  on  which  any  one  receives  mercy  in  the  cove- 
nant is  that  he  should  hasten  to  publish  the  glad  tidings 
abroad.  When  a  polished  gem  receives  a  sunbeam  on 
its  surface,  it  is  under  a  natural  necessity  of  spreading 
out  the  light  in  all  directions;  and  so  a  human  soul  that 
receives  the  light  of  life  from  the  face  of  Jesus  is  under 
law  to  let  that  light  shine  before  men:  "  Freely  ye  have 
received,  freely  give." 

After  another  interdict  against  preaching  Christ,  the 
prisoners  were  dismissed  from  the  bar.  It  is  intimated 
that  the  Court  would  willingly  have  adopted  a  severer 
measure,  but  were  restrained  by  a  fear  of  the  people. 
This  is  an  illustrious  specimen  of  special  providence. 
When  God  has  given  out  his  decree,  "Touch  not  mine 
anointed,  and  do  my  prophets  no  harm,"  he  has  suitable 
instruments  always  at  hand  to  execute  his  will.  The 
people,  as  such,  would  be  a  broken  reed  for  any  perse- 
cuted witness  to  lean  upon.  At  the  next  turn  of  the 
tide  it  might  become  necessary  that  a  military  chief 
should  rescue  an  apostle  from  a  mob  that  were  ready  to 
tear  him  limb  from  limb.  This  is  the  doing  of  the  Lord. 
The  shields  of  the  earth  are  his:  now  with  one  and  now 
with  another  he  covers  his  servants'  heads  in  the  day 
of  battle. 

Accordingly,  the  two  apostles  were  dismissed;  "and 
being  let  go,  they  went  to  their  own  company."  Be- 
hold a  particular  fact  occurring  under  the  operation  of 
a  general  law.  Like  draws  to  like.  When  an  evil  deed 
was  about  to  be  done,  the  persecutors  assembled  and 
laid  their  heads  together:  when  the  Christian  mission 
was  about  to  issue  from  Jerusalem  upon  the  world,  the 
disciples  of  Christ  congregated  in  an  upper  room  for 
prayer.  Birds  of  a  feather  flock  together;  and  if  one 
bird  has  been  for  a  time  imprisoned — separated  from  its 
companions — it  is  beautiful  to  see,  when  the  cage  is  at 
length  opened,  how  straight  and  quick  is  its  course 
through  the  air  to  the  place  where  it  left  its  mates  and 
expects  to  find  them  again.  On  this  principle  proceeds 
the  pigeon-telegraph,  which  has  been  long  known  in 
the  world,  but  never  attained  the  magnitude  of  a  great 
national  institute  till  the  necessities  of  the  siege  forced 
it  to  the  front  in  Paris. 


Ei'cry    Creature    after   its    Kind.  87 

The  instincts  of  animals  are  like  the  laws  of  inanimate 
matter — perfect  in  their  kind.  When  one  lamb  is  caught 
and  kept  for  a  time  separate  from  the  fold,  it  submits  only 
to  superior  force.  As  soon  as  it  regains  liberty,  it  bounds 
across  the  plain,  and  never  halts  till,  with  beating  heart 
and  panting  breath,  it  has  pressed  into  the  midst  of 
the  Hock  again. 

With  equal  exactness  in  an  opposite  direction,  the 
sow  that  was  washed  returns  to  wallow  with  her  fellows 
in  the  mire.  Thus  suddenly  and  surely  did  a  worldling, 
who  had  for  a  time  been  arrested  by  the  discourses  of 
Jesus,  leap  back  into  his  element  of  filthy  lucre.  As 
soon  as  a  pause  in  the  sermon  let  him  go,  he  went  to 
his  own.  When  the  Lord  had  finished  one  of  his  les- 
sons in  the  midst  of  a  promiscuous  audience,  one  of  the 
company  cried  out,  "Master,  speak  to  my  brother,  that 
he  divide  the  inheritance  with  me."  The  word  of  Him 
who  spake  as  never  man  spake  had  fascinated  even  this 
man,  and  for  a  moment  separated  him  from  his  chosen 
company  and  conversation.  But  the  word  that  arrests 
attention  does  not  always  renew  the  heart.  As  soon 
as  the  voice  of  the  preacher  relaxed,  and  let  go  the 
momentarily  entranced  listener,  he  bounded  back  into 
his  element.  He  rushed  after  his  covetousness,  as  water 
flows  down  when  some  interrupting  barrier  has  been 
removed. 

An  example  of  the  opposite  tendency  in  a  renewed 
heart  is  exhibited  in  the  experience  of  the  possessed 
man  whom  the  Lord  delivered  at  Gadara.  Satan  had 
bound  him  soul  and  body,  and  separated  him  from  all 
good;  but  when  the  chain  was  broken  by  the  Re- 
deemer's word,  the  liberated  man  ran  to  his  deliverer, 
and  sat  at  his  feet,  clothed  and  in  his  right  mind.  Being 
let  go,  he  too  went  to  his  own — to  his  own  Saviour 
and  his  own  fellow-disciples.  It  is  good  when  the 
spring  in  the  heart  is  sound,  and  a  Christian,  by  a 
strong  instinct  of  the  new  nature,  as  soon  as  he  is 
freed  from  alien  entanglements,  bounds  back  into  con- 
genial company  and  congenial  employment. 

It  is  sometimes  remarked,  that  when  persons  who 
at  home  maintained  a  Christian  profession,  have  gone 
abroad — gone  to  a  distant  colony  where  ordinances 
were  wanting,  or  to  a  Papal  country  where  ordinances 


88  Tlie   Chiirc/i   in   the  Ifoitse. 

were  superstitious, — they  have  left  their  religion  behind 
them,  and  abandoned  themselves  to  godless  pleasures 
or  godless  gains.  In  these  cases,  as  the  result  proves, 
the  religion  was  an  external  thing  from  the  first.  It 
was  of  the  nature  of  a  bondage.  At  home  the  cords 
of  the  general  Christian  profession  of  the  country  were 
sufficiently  strong  to  keep  the  man  away  from  the  em- 
ployments and  company  that  he  secretly  loved;  but 
when  these  cords  were  broken  by  the  simple  fact  of 
his  removal  from  home,  he  was  a  free  man,  and  like 
other  creatures,  animate  and  inanimate,  when  he  was 
let  go  he  went  unto  his  own.  Thus  worthless,  in  the 
last  resource,  is  the  Christianity  which  acts  as  a  re- 
straint to  prevent  a  man  from  following  his  own  incli- 
nations: beyond  expression  precious  is  the  faith  in  Je- 
sus which  takes  the  inclinations  and  changes  them  so 
that  they  instinctively  seek  the  pure.  This  false  re- 
ligion of  bonds  is  the  direct  contrary  of  the  true.  Christ's 
work  is  a  redemption;  Christ  is  a  Redeemer.  He  sets 
the  captive  free.  "  If  the  Son  make  you  free,  ye  shall 
be  free  indeed."  This  glorious  grace  turns  upside  down 
the  world  which  blindly  counts  religion  so  much  re- 
straint, to  which  some  men  prudently  submit,  with  a 
view  to  a  larger  return  in  a  future  life.  The  man  who 
only  submits  to  the  restraints  of  religion,  runs  wild  in 
all  evil  when  these  restraints  are  removed.  "  Create 
in  me  a  clean  heart,  O  God."  "Thy  people  shall  be 
willing  in  the  day  of  thy  power."  "  I  will  run  in  the 
way  of  thy  commandments,  when  thou  hast  enlarged 
my  heart." 

A  young  man  has  been  accustomed  from  childhood 
to  the  order  and  sobriety  of  a  Christian  household.  As 
the  lines  of  restraint  were  laid  on  him  while  he  was  an 
infant,  and  have  never  been  removed  throughout  his 
youth,  he  is  not  very  vividly  conscious  that  they  are  only 
external  bands  that  confine  him  within  the  course  of  a 
well-favored  morality.  The  time  arrives  at  last  when 
he  must  leave  his  father's  roof  and  be  lost  to  view  in  a 
great  metropolis,  like  a  drop  of  rain  when  it  falls  into 
the  lake.  Now  is  the  moment  of  danger  to  that  youth; 
now,  if  ever,  for  him  is  the  hour  and  the  power  of  dark- 
ness. He  feels  himself  alone  as  if  he  were  in  the  heart 
of  an  American  forest.     If  his  religion  has  been  only  a 


Every   Creature  after  its    Kind.  89 

cord  round  his  neck,  like  tlie  bit  and  bridle  with  which 
a  horse  is  held,  he  is  now  free  from  his  religion.  If  his 
reliijion  is  a  thing  that  can  let  him  go,  he  will  depart  to 
his  own:  he  will  seek  the  company  and  occupation  of 
the  careless,  it  may  be  of  the  profane. 

Cords  of  this  sort  were  fastened  on  Judas,  and  as 
long  as  they  remained  they  confined  his  evil  practices 
within  very  narrow  limits;  but  when  at  last  he  was  let 
go,  what  a  fearfully  sudden  leap  he  made  to  his  own 
— his  own  course,  his  own  company,  and  his  own  place. 

Demas  was  brought  and  kept  for  a  time  under  the 
mighty  influence  of  Paul.  But  the  hold  which  even 
such  a  natural  leader  took,  could  not  always  be  main- 
tained. It  gave  way  one  day,  and  to  the  present  world, 
his  own  chosen  portion,  gravitated  Demas,  as  a  stone 
sinks  to  the  earth  when  you  let  it  go  in  the  air.  The  love 
of  Paul  could  not  hold  him — Paul  was  not  crucified  for 
him.  The  love  of  God  shown  to  men  in  the  gift  of  his 
Son,  a  bond  soft  and  silent,  but  omnipotent,  like  that 
which  keeps  the  planets  in  their  places,  when  once  it 
is  folded  round  )'ou,  cannot  be  wrenched  awa)'. 

But  we  may  find  many  bright  examples  of  the  same 
principle  on  the  opposite  side.  The  new  creature  acts 
after  its  kind,  as  well  as  the  old;  when  the  chains  of 
bondage  are  broken,  the  captive  returns  to  his  Father's 
house. 

A  youth  who  has  already  gotten  a  new  heart  and 
enjoys  a  blessed  hope,  has  been  sent  as  an  apprentice 
into  a  great  engineering  establishment,  where  several 
hundred  men  are  employed.  His  lot  is  cast  in  a  corner 
of  the  huge  workshop  occupied  by  a  group  that  have 
grown  old  and  bold  in  profanity  and  licentiousness. 
In  the  first  hour  they  discover  that  a  saint  is  among 
them,  and  with  a  malignity  altogether  devilish,  they 
gloat  in  anticipation  over  their  prey.  The  ribaldry  and 
blasphemy  are  increased:  they  do  everything  that  in- 
genuity can  suggest  to  rub  off  the  youth's  religion,  and 
make  him  such  as  one  of  themselves.  If  his  religion 
had  been  a  conventional  gilding  on  the  surface,  it  would 
have  been  rubbed  off  in  the  first  week;  but  as  it  was 
all  steel,  the  more  roughly  it  was  rubbed  the  brighter 
it  grew. 

The  first  day  wore  on  towards  evening:  at  six  o'clock 


go  TJic   CJnircJi  in   the  House. 

the  bell,  in  a  small  tower  over  the  gateway,  was  rung-, 
and  every  man  threw  aside  his  tools  and  hastened  away. 
The  apprentice  engineer,  articled  by  an  eternal  cove- 
nant to  Christ  his  Saviour,  and  thereafter  indentured 
to  a  master  engine-maker,  was  at  length  let  go.  L  el. 
go,  he  went  to  his  own: — to  the  fields,  the  flowers,  the 
birds,  with  which  he  had  been  wont  to  keep  company 
at  home;  then  to  his  food,  which  he  enjoyed  with  the 
fresh  relish  of  a  laborer,  and  the  fresher  relish  of  a  child 
of  God  constantly  getting  daily  bread  from  a  Father's 
hand;  then-  to  the  Bible,  his  own  book,  the  gift  of  God 
to  him;  then  to  his  own  Saviour,  in  faith's  confiding 
prayer.  A  whole  legion  of  devils,  or  wicked  men,  will 
not  overcome  this  youth.  The  anchor  of  his  soul  is 
sure  and  steadfast  within  the  veil.  God  will  shield 
him  at  first,  so  that  the  fiery  darts  shall  not  hurt  him, 
and  after  a  little  put  a  sword  in  his  hand — the  Sword 
of  the  Spirit,  which  is  the  Word  of  God;  and  this  wea- 
pon he  will  wield  aggressively,  so  as  to  subdue  sorne 
of  these  enemies,  and  lead  them  captive  unto  Christ. 

Yet  another  lesson.  The  grave  has  a  greedy  ap- 
petite, and  a  firm  grasp.  It  takes  many,  and  keeps 
what  it  gets.  Deep  in  the  earth,  and  deeper  in  the 
sea,  lie  the  bodies  of  those  who  have  been  redeemed 
by  the  blood  of  Christ.  A  strange  place  for  Christ's 
members  to  be  in  !  But  there  they  shall  not  always 
be.  They  must  one  day  be  let  go;  and  when  let  go; 
they  will  return  to  their  own — their  own  Redeemer, 
and  their  own  rest. 

An  atom  of  atmospheric  air  may  have  been  imprisoned 
in  some  strong  vessel  at  the  bottom  of  the  sea  for  ages. 
After  thousands  of  years,  that  vessel  at  last  gives  way 
and  breaks  up.  The  atom  of  air,  although  it  has  been 
long  an  exile,  has  not  forgotten  its  home,  and  will  not 
miss  its  way.  Whenever  it  is  released,  it  rises  in  a 
sheer  straight  line  through  the  thick  heavy  waters — 
rises  a  little  air-bell,  nor  halts  in  its  course,  until, 
emerging  from  the  sea  with  a  gentle  joyful  bursting 
sound,  it  reaches  its  own, — the  heaven,  the  home 
which  it  left  many  ages  before. 

Be  of  good  cheer,  disciples  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  Ye 
are  of  more  value  than  many  atoms  of  air.  Doth  God 
in  nature  care  for  the  birds  of  the  air  and  the  flowers 


The   Prayer   of  the   Primitive    Chiireh.  91 

of  the  field,  and  the  elements  of  matter;  and  how  much 
more  shall  he  clothe  and  house  you,  O  ye  of  little  faith. 
The  grave  must  relax  its  grasp.  Its  stubborn  nature 
has  been  already  tamed  into  obedience.  The  Lord  has 
risen,  and  become  the  nrst-fruits  of  them  that  slept. 
The  way  by  which  he  went  stands  open,  and  through 
it  all  his  members  will  return  to  him.  Earth  and  sea 
must  give  up  their  dead,  and  the  released  prisoners 
will  unerringly  find  their  way  home.  According  to 
the  power  and  the  constancy  of  Nature,  which  is  the 
power  and  constancy  of  God,  like  will  draw  to  like  at 
last, — the  living  to  the  living,  the  living  saved  to  the 
Living  Saviour. 


XIX. 
THE  PRAYER   OF  THE  PRIMITIVE   CHURCH. 

'■'■  And  ivlwn  ihey  Itrard  that,  they  lifted  up  their  voice  to  God  with  one 
accord,  and  said.  Lord,  thou  art  God,  ivhich  hast  made  heaven,  and  earth, 
and  the  sea,  and  all  that  in  them  is:  -vho  by  the  mouth  of  thy  servant  Da- 
vid hast  said.  Why  did  the  heathen  rage,  and  the  people  imagine  vain 
things  ?  The  kings  of  the  earth  stood  up,  and  the  rulers  ivere  gathered  to- 
gether against  the  Lord,  and  against  his  Christ.  For  of  a  truth  against 
thy  holy  child  Jesus,  -whom  thou  hast  anointed;  both  Herod",  and  Pontius 
J 'Hate,  with  the  Gentiles,  and  the  people  of  Israel,  ^aere  gathered  together, 
for  to  do  whatsoever  thy  hand  and  thy  counsel  determined  before  to  be  done. 
.-Ind  now.  Lord,  behold  their  threatenings:  and  grant  unto  thy  servants, 
that  with  all  boldness  they  may  speak  thy  word."' — ACTS  IV.  24-29. 

Peter  and  John,  providentially  delivered  from  the 
hands  of  the  persecutors,  plunged  into  a  meeting  of 
their  fellow-disciples,  and  forthwith  reported  all  that 
had  happened.  The  company  as  soon  as  the}'  heard 
of  the  danger  that  had  threatened,  and  the  deliverance 
that  had  been  wrought,  forthwith  "lifted  up  their  voice 
to  God  "  and  prayed.  They  were  neither  cast  down 
nor  uplifted.  They  did  not  propose  to  try  this  meth- 
od or  that  method  of  improving  their  circumstances. 
They  proposed  no  plan.  They  lacked  wisdom  and 
strength,  and  in  their  need  applied  to  God  by  prayer. 
Prayer  is  not  the  origin  of  a  movement.  It  is  the 
result  of  one  that  preceded.     You  stand  on  the  mar- 


92  TJie   Church   in   the  House. 

i,nn  of  a  Highland  lake,  and  hear  a  mysterious  but  dis- 
tinctly articulate  sound  coming  from  the  dead  wall  of 
a  gray,  ruined  castle  that  stands  on  a  miniature  island 
not  far  from  the  shore.  The  sound,  however,  was  not 
generated  in  that  ruin.  It  could  not  generate  a  voice. 
The  words  of  a  living  man  on  the  shore,  wafted  over 
the  still  water,  struck  the  old  silent  keep,  and  its  wall 
gave  back  the  echo.  If  that  living  voice  had  not  struck 
the  wall,  the  wall  would  have  remained  dumb. 

Prayer — man's  cry  to  God — is  the  second  of  a  series 
of  vibrations.  The  voice  of  prayer,  on  earth,  is  an  echo 
awakened  in  ruined,  dumb  humanity,  by  God's  sweet 
promise  coming  down  from  heaven.  In  general,  prayer 
is  the  echo  of  a  promise;  in  particular,  we  may  discover 
the  specific  promise  to  which  this  prayer  replies  (Isa. 
xl.  26,  27). 

What  a  sublime  position  these  suppliants  occupy  ! 
They  are  admitted  into  the  Divine  counsel.  "  The 
secret  of  the  Lord  is  with  them  that  fear  him."  They 
knew  that  all  these  events  were  foreseen,  and  would  be 
overruled  for  good.  They  were  able  to  mark  in  the  Scrip- 
tures the  precise  spot  they  had  reached  in  the  scheme 
of  Providence,  as  a  shipmaster  marks  his  latitude  on  his 
chart.  In  the  quiet  confidence  of  faith  they  realize 
and  confess  that  the  combination  of  princes  and  peoples 
— of  Jews  and  Gentiles — to  put  to  death  the  holy  child 
Jesus,  only  accomplished  the  gracious  purpose  of  God. 
These  principalities  and  powers  of  the  world  imagined 
that  they  were  quenching  the  kingdom  of  Christ  in  its 
infancy;  whereas  they  were  the  unconscious  instruments 
of  laying  its  foundations  deep,  and  spreading  its  influ- 
ence through  the  world. 

Now,  in  verse  29th,  comes  the  most  important  of 
all  their  requests.  Petitions  sent  to  Parliament  are 
sometimes  of  considerable  length.  There  may  be  a 
narrative  of  facts,  long  and  intricate;  there  may  be  the 
citation  of  precedents;  there  may  be  arguments  and 
pleas;  but  it  is  common  to  pass  over  all  these  when 
the  document  is  presented,  and  read  only  what  is  de- 
nominated "  the  prayer  of  the  petition" — that  is,  the 
clause  at  the  end  which  declares  articulately  what  the 
petitioners  want — what  they  wish  to  be  done  for  them, 
or  given  to  them.     Verse  29th  contains  the  prayer  of 


The   Prayer  of  the  Primitive   Chiireh.  93 

the  petition.  It  expresses  what  the  petitioners  desire 
— what  tiicy  would  be  at,  if  they  had  their  will. 

It  ismostintercstintr  and  instructive  to  mark  what  they 
really  crave.  Not  a  word  of  vengeance  upon  their  en- 
emies. In  the  recital  the}'  have  clearly  described  the 
cruel  injustice  of  their  adversaries;  but  they  do  not  fol- 
low up  that  recital  by  a  request  for  punishment.  Neither 
do  they  plead  for  immunity  from  danger  for  themselves. 
There  is  a  recital  of  their  danger;  but  not  a  petition  for 
safety.  The  request  is,  not  that  they  may  be  shielded 
from  persecution,  but  that  they  may  have  grace  to  be 
faithful  under  it.  "  Grant  unto  thy  servants,  that  with 
all  boldness  they  may  speak  thy  word." 

It  is  a  beautiful  example  of  distrust  of  themselves 
and  confidence  in  God  combined.  They  feared  lest 
the  danger  which  threatened  their  persons  should  in- 
timidate them  in  their  work.  Their  anxiety  was  lest 
their  natural  shrinking  from  suffering  should  tempt  them 
to  conceal  the  pungent  parts  of  their  testimony  in  order 
to  shield  themselves  from  persecution.  They  were  jeal- 
ous over  themselves  with  a  godly  jealousy.  They  were 
conscious  that  nature  within  them  shrank  instinctively 
from  pain  and  shame.  They  knew  that  to  proclaim 
the  whole  counsel  of  God  would  gall  the  men  who  had 
the  power  of  life  and  death  in  their  hands.  They  feared, 
accordingly,  lest  they  should  be  tempted  to  make  the 
gospel  more  pleasant  for  the  sake  of  peace. 

The  application  of  this  Scriptural  example  to  our 
own  circumstances  is  attended  with  some  difficulty; 
and  yet  it  may  be  made  with  certainty  and  success. 
It  is  difficult  to  clear  our  way  here,  but  not  impossible. 

The  circumstances  of  our  place  and  time  seem  to  be 
so  diverse  from  those  of  the  first  preachers,  that  no  di- 
rect lesson  from  their  experience  can  be  transferred  to 
ours.  No  persecutor  dare  raise  a  hand  against  a  min- 
ister here  and  now,  to  prevent  him  from  declaring  the 
Gospel  in  all  its  fullness.  We  are  free:  and  yet  the 
pressure  which  tempts  to  timid  unfaithfulness  is  only 
removed  from  one  side  and  applied  to  another.  The 
fear  of  man  bringeth  a  snare;  and  ever  since  Peter  said, 
"  I  know  not  the  man,"  the  feet  of  even  true  witnesses 
have,  in  all  generations,  been  often  entangled  miser- 
ably in  its  toils.     But  snares  are  not  all  of  one  shape 


94  The  Church   in  the  House. 

or  of  one  material — either  the  bodily  snares  of  the  fowler, 
or  the  snares  set  for  the  spirit  by  the  wiles  of  the  wicked 
one.  They  may  be  of  iron  or  of  silk.  They  may  be 
varied  indefinitely  in  matter,  form,  and  position,  ac- 
cording to  the  character  of  the  victim,  and  the  oppor- 
tunities of  the  ensnarer.  A  force  that  is  diffused  and 
soft,  may  exercise  a  greater  pressure  than  one  that  is 
sharp  and  hard,  as  the  atmosphere  over  a  man's  body 
lies  heavier  on  him  than  any  other  burden  he  ever  bore. 

To  threaten  a  witness  for  Christ  with  the  prison  or 
the  scaffold  is  one  way  of  turning  him  aside  from  faith- 
fulness; to  set  before  him  the  favor  of  a  polished  but 
worldly  circle  is  another.  You  may,  if  you  please,  pro- 
nounce that  the  man  who  should  weakly  yield  to  these 
soft  seducements  is  a  far  less  noble  specimen  of  human- 
ity than  those  men  who  quailed  before  a  scaffold,  and 
held  their  peace  to  save  their  lives;  although,  even  here, 
something  might  be  said  on  the  other  side.  But  the 
distinction  is  of  no  practical  importance.  If  the  se- 
ductions of  modern  society  do,  in  point  of  fact,  deflect 
the  compass  of  the  witness  as  far  aside  as  the  ancient 
persecutions,  the  difference  in  the  character  of  the  in- 
strument makes  nothing  in  the  result. 

If  two  ships  are  lost  at  sea  by  the  false  pointing  of 
their  compasses,  it  will  make  no  difference  either  as  to 
the  loss  of  property  or  the  loss  of  life,  that  the  compass 
of  the  one  ship  was  prevented  from  pointing  truly  by  a 
nail  that  fastened  it  to  the  deck,  and  the  compass  of 
the  other  ship  secretly  drawn  aside  by  a  mass  of  iron 
concealed  in  the  hold.  In  both  cases,  and  in  both 
alike,  the  compass  failed  to  declare  the  truth,  and  that 
faithlessness  caused  the  loss  of  the  ships.  Thus  an  an- 
cient minister  of  the  gospel  who  held  back  the  truth 
for  fear  of  the  dungeon,  and  a  modern  minister  who 
softens  and  disguises  the  truth  because  a  gay,  worldly, 
critical  congregation  listen  to  the  Word,  must  stand  side 
by  side,  repenting  and  pleading  for  the  pardon  of  their 
unfaithfulness.  On  the  other  hand,  an  ancient  minister 
who  proclaimed  the  whole  truth  with  a  halter  round 
his  neck,  and  a  modern  minister  who,  fearing  God  and 
having  no  other  fear,  declares  the  whole  counsel  of  God 
to  every  class  and  every  character,  will  stand  together 
at  the  great  account  to  h.car  the  appro\-ing  sentence, 


The  Prayer  of  the    Primitive   Church.  95 

"Well  done,  good  and  faithful  ser\'ants:  enter  ye  into 
the  joy  of  }'our  Lord." 

The  request  is  simple,  specific,  and  full:  "  Grant  unto 
thy  servants  that  with  all  boldness  they  may  speak  thy 
word." 

I.  That  they  may  speak,  and  not  be  dumb.  Speech 
is  a  chief  gift  of  God,  a  chief  prerogative  of  man.  Where 
there  is  a  living  spring,  it  finds  or  makes  a  channel 
through  which  it  may  flow;  and  where  there  is  a  living 
soul,  it  finds  or  makes  an  avenue  of  egress.  A  soul  can- 
not be  imprisoned  in  a  body  of  flesh,  as  a  spring  cannot 
be  imprisoned  among  the  mountains.  Either  life,  ac- 
cording to  its  nature,  must  have  a  means  of  outflow. 
On  the  other  hand,  where  there  is  no  spring,  no  chan- 
nel is  needed,  and  none  is  found.  Among  living  crea- 
tures, accordingly,  where  there  is  not  a  soul,  there  is 
not  speech;  but  in  that  one  creature  who  was  made  in 
the  image  of  God — into  whom  God  breathed  a  living 
soul — there  is  speech,  the  open  channel  for  its  forth- 
going.  Reverence  human  speech.  It  is  the  mark  of  a 
being  who  has  been  made,  and  may  be  re-made,  a  child 
of  God.  Reverence  human  speech,  for  it  is  a  divinely 
formed  capacity  for  a  divinely  prescribed  use.  Dread 
false  speech,  proud  speech,  impure  speech,  profane 
speech, — for  these  are  the  bright  weapons  with  which 
the  King  has  accoutred  us  wielded  against  the  King. 
High  treason  ! 

"That  they  may  speak;"  for  why  should  they  be 
silent  who  have  tasted  that  the  Lord  is  gracious  .-* 
Let  them  tell  to  all  who  are  willing  to  listen  what  the 
Lord  hath  done  for  their  souls.  Let  the  compressed 
love  which  glows  in  renewed  hearts  find  utterance  in 
spoken  praise.  Bless  the  Lord,  O  my  soul,  and  forget 
not  all  his  benefits  ! 

In  another  aspect  it  behoves  all  who  hear  to  speak. 
Silence  is  sin,  if  your  cry  might  prevent  a  neighbor 
from  stumbling  over  a  precipice.  Silence  is  sin,  if 
neighbors  are  treading  the  broad  path  that  leadeth  to 
destruction,  and  your  word  might  lead  their  steps  into 
the  way  of  life.  Silence  is  sin,  if  a  believing  brother  is 
sliding  back,  while  your  loving  reproof  might  become 
to  him  a  healing  balm.  Silence  is  sin,  if  a  believing 
brother  is  oppressed  with  doubts  and  fears,  while  your 


96  The   ChurclL   in   the  House. 

lips  might  pour  the  consolations  of  God  into  his  weary 
heart. 

The  prayer  points  mainly  to  a  public  ministry,  and 
yet  nothing  is  said  about  sermons — nothing  said  even 
about  preaching:  "Grant  unto  thy  servants  that  they 
may  speak."  Whether  the  address  be  long  or  short, 
whether  the  audience  be  many  or  {&\v,  whether  the 
style  be  eloquent  or  stammering,  the  pith  and  marrow 
of  the  whole  matter  is,  that  one  man,  hoping  in  Christ 
and  loving  his  neighbor,  speaks  to  that  neighbor  about 
Christ's  redeeming  love.  All  preaching  may  be  re- 
duced to  this.  Out  of  this,  as  the  germ,  all  true 
preaching  springs.  If  its  whole  mass  were  by  some 
chemical  process  reduced  to  its  elements,  this  would 
be  found  the  essential  residuum  remaining  indestructi- 
ble after  all  ornaments  and  accessories  had  been  melted 
away.  I  suppose  Philip  preached  pretty  fully  to  the 
anxious  Ethiopian  in  the  desert;  but  the  Spirit  in  the 
Word  performs  that  chemical  analysis  which  we  have 
imagined,  and  retains  only  that  ultimate  and  inde- 
structible essence  of  the  discourse,  which  is  small  in 
bulk  and  easy  of  transmission — Philip  ""  preacJied  unto 
him  Jesus." 

2.  The  prayer  of  these  primitive  Christians  is  "that 
they  may  speak  thy  xvord''  The  word  of  God  supplies 
alike  the  authority  and  the  material  of  preaching. 
The  seed  is  the  word:  the  sower  need  not  scatter  any 
other  in  his  field.  This  alone  is  vital — this  alone  will 
grow. 

3.  Their  ambition  is  to  speak  the  word  of  God 
'' zvith  boldness."  Let  no  man  assume  too  readily  that 
he  has  attained  this  qualification  of  a  witness.  In  this 
department,  all  is  not  gold  that  glitters.  Beware  of 
counterfeits  in  these  payments,  for  a  considerable  quan- 
tity of  base  coin  is  in  circulation.  To  rasp  like  a  file  on 
other  people's  tender  points,  because  you  have  no  ten- 
der points  of  your  own,  is  not  the  boldness  for  which 
these  disciples  prayed.  In  that  species  of  courage 
some  of  the  inferior  creatures  greatly  excel  us. 

An  essential  constituent  of  courage  is  tenderness. 
In  feudal  times,  when  military  valor  held  the  supreme 
place  in  universal  opinion,  the  prevailing  conception, 
although  disfigured  by  some  foolish  and  grotesque  fea- 


TJic  Prayer  of  the  Primitive  Church.  97 

turcs,  contained  a  basis  of  truth.  Battle  courage  was 
held  to  be  only  one  half  of  a  knightly  bearing;  the 
other  half  consisted  of  a  tenderness,  in  some  cases  al- 
most feminine.  Tenderness  is  as  essential  to  spiritual 
as  to  secular  heroism.  The  boldness  of  speech  which 
costs  the  speaker  nothing  is  neither  beautiful  in  itself 
nor  successful  in  its  object.  It  is  like  a  stroke  on  hol- 
low wood;  instead  of  penetrating  the  beam,  it  rebounds 
in  the  face  of  the  operator. 

Paul  was  a  bold  man,  but  he  was  not  an  unfeeling 
one.  It  was  a  bold  word  that  he  addressed  to  certain 
professors  at  Philippi,  and  he  spoke  it  once  and  again — 
"  Ye  are  enemies  of  the  cross  of  Christ; "  but  he  wept  as 
he  spoke.  These  tears  did  more  to  make  a  way  for  the 
reproving  word  into  the  joints  and  marrow  of  the  cul- 
prits than  all  the  sharpness  of  the  reproof  itself.  Ob- 
serve a  mechanic  boring  through  a  bar  of  iron.  He  has 
a  properly-formed  instrument  of  steel.  This  he  turns 
quickly  round,  under  a  strong  pressure,  upon  the  bar 
which  he  desires  to  perforate.  But  this  is  not  enough. 
If  only  on  the  hard  beam  of  iron  a  harder  point  of  steel 
were  pressed  and  turned,  they  would  set  each  other  on 
fire.  But  the  skilful  operator  quietly  drops  oil  on  the 
point  of  contact,  while  he  plies  his  task.  This  anointing 
keeps  the  instrument  from  heating,  and  carries  it  through. 
These  tears  of  Paul  served  the  same  purpose  for  the  Phil- 
ippian  backsliders  that  the  mechanic's  oil-drops  served 
for  the  iron  beam.  Human  tenderness  baptized  by  the 
Spirit  poured  on  the  point  of  contact,  when  the  sharp 
sword  of  the  Word  is  pressed  against  a  brother's  heart, 
prevents  the  pressure  from  begetting  a  burning  heat, 
and  carries  the  weapon  home. 

To  my  mind  there  is  hardly  a  more  melancholy  spec- 
tacle in  this  world  than  that  of  a  man,  orthodox  in  faith 
but  coarse  in  the  natural  grain,  who  rattles  out  his 
censures  on  all  and  sundry  who  differ  from  himself 
without  an  effort  and  without  a  pang;  looking  down, 
meanwhile,  with  contempt  on  men  of  greater  modesty 
as  unfaithful  to  the  truth.  The  stream  of  words  that 
condemns  a  neighbor,  without  scalding  the  speaker's 
own  skin  as  it  flows,  is  like  the  clack  of  a  windmill  set 
up  to  frighten  birds — as  hard  and  as  wearisome,  and  as 
powerless.     The  greater  the  boldness  any  man  ventures 


98  TJie   Church  in   the  House. 

to  exercise,  the  greater  tenderness  he  needs  to  attain. 
The  boldness  which  those  primitive  confessors  asked 
and  obtained  was  saturated  with  a  sanctified  human 
tenderness;  and  this  was  the  secret  of  their  power. 

4.  In  their  eagerness  for  effective  work,  they  desire 
to  speak  with  all  boldness.  Even  courage  may  be  partial 
and  one-sided.  This  virtue  vanishes  whenever  it  begins 
to  show  respect  of  persons.  That  is  not  true  courage 
which  is  severe  to  the  poor  but  quails  before  the  rich. 
As  the  water  of  a  reservoir  will  be  completely  lost  unless 
the  circle  of  its  lip  be  kept  whole  on  all  sides,  all  the 
dignity  and  power  of  boldness  vanishes  when  it  fails  on 
one  point. 

Perhaps  the  weakest  point  of  all  the  circle  for  every 
man  is  himself.  If  courage  is  needed  to  speak  the  truth 
to  a  neighbor,  it  is  still  more  needed  in  dealing  with 
ourselves.  A  surgeon  needs  firmness.  If  he  faint  at 
the  sight  of  blood,  he  has  mistaken  his  profession.  He 
needs  a  stout  heart  when  he  is  called  to  operate  on 
other  men;  but  he  is  much  more  liable  to  flinch  if  he 
need  to  operate  upon  himself.  Alas!  we  lack  courage 
to  press  the  sword  of  the  Spirit  home  to  the  root  of  the 
ailment  when  it  is  seated  in  our  own  souls.  Strike,  and 
spare  not  for  the  patient's  crying.  This  old  prayer  is  a 
word  in  season  still:  grant  unto  thy  servants  boldness. 
Nerve  this  arm  to  strike  this  blow. 


XX. 

POWER    TO  BE    WITNESSES. 

"  And  when  they  had  prayed,  the  place  was  shaken  whe)  e  they  were  as- 
sembled together;  and  they  were  all  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  they 
spake  the  word  of  God  with  boldness.  And  the  multitude  of  them  that  be- 
'  lieved  were  of  one  heart  and  of  one  soul:  neither  said  any  of  them  that  ought 
of  the  things  which  he  possessed  was  his  own;  but  they  had  all  things  com- 
iiwn.  And  with  great  poiver  gave  the  apostles  witness  of  the  resurrection 
of  the  Lord  Jesus:  and  great  grace  was  upon  them  all.  Neither  was  there 
any  among  them  that  lacked:  for  as  many  as  were  possessors  of  lands  or 
houses  sold  them,  and  brought  the  prices  of  the  things  that  were  sold,  and 
laid  them  down  at  the  apostle^ s  feet:  and  distribution  zoas  made  unto  evety 
man  according  as  he  had  need." — Acts  iv.  31-35. 

These  feeble  Christians  in  the  upper  room  moved  the 
Hand  that  moves  the  world.     The  place  was  shaken, 


P(nvcr  to  be   Witnesses.  99 

but  not  the  people.  The  ground  trembled,  but 
they  had  found  another  resting-place.  God  is  our 
refuge. 

"  When  they  had  prayed,  the  place  was  shaken." 
It  is  after,  and  in  answer  to  the  prayers  of  his  people, 
that  the  Lord  arises  to  shake  the  earth.  Quick  and 
strong  vibrations  have  of  late  been  felt  in  the  political 
sphere.  Some  mighty  thrones  have  fallen  under  the 
shock,  especially  the  anomalous  throne  of  Peter's  pre- 
tended successor  at  Rome.  The  supports  of  the  Pope's 
temporal  power  in  Austria  and  France  were  succes- 
sively undermined,  and  the  kingdom  that  leant  on 
them  has  accordingly  fallen.  Prayers  have  long  been 
ascending  to  the  Lord  of  hosts  for  the  downfall  of  that 
great  tyranny,  and  at  last  the  sword  that  has  often 
been  stained  with  tiie  blood  of  saints  has  been  wrenched 
from  the  usurper's  hand. 

The  shaking  of  the  ground  after  the  prayer  of  this 
persecuted  company  was  a  sign  that  their  prayer  had 
been  heard.  They  had  expressly  acknowledged  God 
as  the  maker  of  heaven  and  earth.  In  answer  to  this 
portion  of  their  prayer,  he  gives  them  a  token  that  al- 
mighty power  is  at  hand  for  their  protection.  The 
commotions  of  our  day  are  encouraging  rather  than 
otherwise  to  the  disciples  of  Christ:  "  He  that  believ-- 
eth  shall  not  make  haste."  Hollow  hypocrisies  are 
shaken  down,  in  order  that  the  things  that  cannot  be 
shaken  may  remain  erect  (Heb.  xii.  27). 

But  besides  this  symbol  of  power,  a  more  specific 
answer  was  given  to  their  request;  for  "they  were  all 
filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  they  spake  the  word 
with  boldness."  They  did  not  fear  their  enemies,  but 
they  distrusted  themselves.  They  dreaded  not  dan- 
ger, but  they  dreaded  lest  danger  should  shake  them 
from  their  steadfastness.  Now  they  have  obtained 
what  they  asked,  and  they  are  at  ease — at  ease  as  is 
the  magnet  of  the  compass  on  board  ship  in  a  surging 
sea — steady  when  all  else  is  moving — fixed  because 
loose — fixed  to  its  pole  in  the  distant  heavens,  and  all 
its  holds  slackened  from  below.  The  steadiest  thing 
on  a  shaking  world  is  a  disciple  whose  life  is  hid  with 
Christ  in  God,  and  whose  heart  is  loosened  from  its 
cleaving  to  the  dust.     His  weight  hangs  on  heaven, 


100  TJie   CJmrcJi  in  the  House. 

and  the  shaking-  of  the  earth  under  his  feet  does  not 
imperil  his  position,  or  disturb  his  repose. 

The  apostles  stood  forth  as  leaders.  They  were  en- 
dued with  great  power;  and  yet  all  that  was  required 
of  them  was  to  be  witnesses  of  a  fact.  Their  power 
was  exerted  in  giving  "  witness  of  the  resurrection  of 
the  Lord  Jesus."  Christ  had  specially  promised  them 
power  to  be  his  witnesses,  and  now  that  promise  was 
fulfilled.  Peter  has  recovered  from  his  weakness  now. 
It  is  no  more  "  I  know  not  the  man." 

The  main  characteristic  of  their  witnessing  was  not 
great  eloquence,  or  great  learning,  but  great  power. 
When  you  travel  by  night  through  a  mining  district, 
you  see  mighty  volumes  of  flame  throbbing  fitfully  from 
the  mouth  of  lofty  furnaces,  and  illuminating  for  miles 
around  the  nocturnal  sky.  This  phenomenon  is  the 
ordinary  accompaniment  of  power,  but  it  is  not  the 
power.  You  must  approach  the  bottom  of  the  furnace, 
and  examine  whether  miniature  streams  of  white  hot 
lava  are  coursing  forth  in  prepared  channels  along  the 
smoking  ground.  This — this  is  power.  The  heat  in 
the  heart  of  the  furnace  is  melting  the  ore,  and  the 
metal,  separated  from  its  dross,  is  flowing  out  pure. 
The  great  flickering  flame  is  not  by  itself  the  proof  of 
power.  In  like  manner  there  is  often  a  blaze  issuing 
from  a  really  effective  ministry  of  the  gospel,  which 
attracts  the  gaze  of  a  miscellaneous  multitude;  but 
there  is  also  sometimes  such  flame  flung  up  against  the 
clouds  where  there  is  no  melting  heat  below.  We 
should  not  despise  the  conspicuous  and  dazzling  ac- 
companiments, for  they  may  be  the  sparks  that  nat- 
urally and  necessarily  rise  from  a  melting  heat;  but 
neither  should  we  trust  in  them,  for  they  may  be 
the  pithless  flash  from  blazing  straw.  God  grant  the 
great  power  in  secret,  with  or  without  the  visible 
demonstration. 

The  power  seems  to  have  been  a  special  gift  be- 
stowed upon  the  apostles,  but  a  suitable  portion  was 
imparted  also  to  the  whole  company, — "great  grace 
was  upon  them  all."  A  specific  example  of  the  grace 
displayed  by  the  disciples  is  immediately  recorded — • 
the  grace  of  liberality  and  brotherly  love.  This  is  a 
great  grace,  and,  like  other  great  things,  rare. 


Poiver  to  he  Witnesses.  roi 

They  abandoned  themselves  at  that  time  to  a  ruh'nf^ 
passion.  They  did  out-of-the-way  thinc^s;  they  were 
singular  people.  If  they  turned  the  world  upside  down, 
they  had  themselves  first  of  all  underi^one  the  same 
change.  Instead  of  the  native  and  habitual  greed  of 
the  old  man,  gravitating  to  self  as  matter  gravitates 
to  the  ground,  there  appeared  the  self-sacrificing  love 
of  the  new  man — the  man  created  anew  in  Christ  Jesus 
for  the  very  purpose  of  producing  fruits  like  these.  In 
this  new  appetite  the  new  man  takes  after  Christ.  Ev- 
ery creature  after  his  kind,  and  the  new  creature  too. 
It  is  good  to  be  singular  in  the  world,  when  the  singu- 
larity consists  in  greater  conformity  to  the  Saviour's 
will  and  way.  Not  singularity  for  its  own  sake — that 
is  a  contemptible  thing;  but  the  courage  to  obey  the 
law  of  Christ,  although  obedience  should  make  you 
singular. 

The  disciples  now  experienced  the  truth  of  the  Mas- 
ter's prediction, — "  In  the  world  ye  shall  have  tribula- 
tion." No  promise  had  been  given  of  exemption  from 
danger.  The  world  was  not  so  changed  that  the  dis- 
ciples should  not  need  defence;  but  they  were  so 
changed  that  they  possessed  within  their  own  souls  a 
complete  defence  against  the  world's  assault.  Their 
protection  consisted  of  these  two  woven  into  one — • 
namely,  courage  to  bear  witness  of  Christ,  and  brotherly 
love  among  themselves.  Towards  those  who  were 
without,  unflinching  courage;  towards  those  who  were 
within,  open-handed  charity.  The  world  had  cause 
to  say  two  things  with  equal  emphasis  regarding  them 
—first,  behold  how  these  Christians  defy  us;  and,  second, 
behold  how  these  Christians  love  each  other. 

Alas  for  the  Church  in  our  day  !  Surely  we  are 
weak  on  the  two  points  where  they  were  strong — cour- 
age to  bear  witness  for  Christ,  and  fervent  charity 
among  ourselves.  The  atmosphere  of  the  society  in 
which  Christians  live  seems  to  have  grown  thicker  in 
these  last  days.  It  is  like  a  frozen  sea,  in  which  all 
things  grow  hard  and  cold.  The  breath  of  life  seems 
to  freeze.     A  melting  is  needed — the  baptism  of  fire. 


ro2  TJie  CJiw'ch  in  the  House. 

XXI. 

A   SON  OF  CONSOLATION. 

"  A>!,i  yoses,  who  by  the  apostles  was  siirnanied  Barnabas,  (which  is, 
l>eitt^  interp7-eted.  The  son  of  consolation.)  a  Levite,  and  of  the  country  of 
Cyprus,  having  land,  sold  it,  and  brought  the  money,  and  laid  it  at  the. 
apostles'  feet." — ACTS  IV.  36,  37. 

Another  outburst  of  generous  love  occurred  in  the 
form  of  selling  their  property  and  distributing  the  pro- 
ceeds. This  law  and  its  limitation  were  noticed  in  con- 
nection with  an  earlier  example.  But  now,  besides  the 
general  intimation,  two  specific  examples  are  submitted 
■ — a  true  and  a  false.  Barnabas  and  Ananias  are  photo- 
graphed in  the  Word,  that  all  generations  may  learn, 
by  specimen  as  well  as  by  description,  the  difference 
between  genuine  and  counterfeit  charity. 

The  name  of  this  good  man  was  Joses,  and  the  name 
Barnabas,  by  which  he  is  now  universally  known,  was 
attached  to  him  by  the  apostles,  in  order  to  express 
the  character  which  he  displayed.  This  name  was  given 
to  indicate  a  nature.  They  called  him  the  Son  of  Con- 
solation because  he  was  a  succorer  of  many,  and  a 
comforter  of  the  downcast. 

He  was  a  Levite,  and  yet  he  possessed  land.  This 
is  contrary  to  the  old  economical  law  in  Israel;  but 
probably  at  that  period,  on  account  of  frequent  and 
great  political  changes,  it  was  found  impossible  to  main- 
tain the  ancient  constitution  in  its  integrity. 

Barnabas  is  indeed  a  good  name  when  you  learn 
what  it  means.  Alas  !  how  rife  is  its  opposite — the 
Son  of  Complaint — of  gloom.  To  such  a  man  every- 
thing appears  in  its  darkest  colors.  He  looks  at  the 
earth  and  the  sky  through  a  yellow  glass.  He  sees 
no  green  on  the  earth,  and  in  the  heavens  no  blue.  It 
is  not  so  easy  to  remove  the  jaundiced  glasses  from  the 
eyes  of  the  mind  as  to  take  away  the  colored  medium 
which  impeded  your  enjoyment  of  the  landscape.  Func- 
tional derangements  of  the  body  through  disease  some- 
times also  supervene  to  tinge  still  further  the  atmos- 
phere through  which  the  spirit  looks. 

Barnabas,  we  may  be  well  assured,  did  not  grudge 


A    Son  of  Consolation.  103 

his  gifts.  He  was  not  grieved  when  a  call  for  another 
contribution  came.  He  was  a  great  giver,  and  yet  he 
was  a  cheerful  giver.     The  Lord  loved  Barnabas. 

I  conclude  that  Barnabas  had  much  comfort  him- 
self, for  he  had  much  to  bestow  on  others.  If  we  see 
streams  flowing  from  the  well's  brim  to  refresh  the 
neighborhood,  we  may  be  assured  that  the  well  itself 
is  full. 

The  great  contributions  which  he  made  did  not  em- 
bitter his  spirit.  The  flow  of  bounty  from  that  man's 
hand  acted  as  the  flow  of  water  from  the  drain  on  the 
ploughed  field — it  sweetened  and  made  fertile  the  whole 
breadth  of  his  life.  It  is  the  gorging  up  of  the  water 
for  want  of  outlet  that  makes  the  land  sour,  and  leaves 
it  barren;  and  it  is  the  habit  of  holding  in  all  for  self 
that  spoils  the  pleasure  and  profit  of  a  life. 

A  Son  of  Consolation  is  a  fine  character.  He  who 
has  consolation  gives  it;  and  he  that  gives  it,  has  it. 
The  more  of  it  you  have,  the  more  you  give;  and  the 
more  you  give  to  others,  the  more  you  retain  for  your 
own  use.  This  is  not  one  of  the  things  that  perish  in 
the  using.  Like  the  bread  in  the  hands  of  Jesus,  it 
multiplies  as  it  is  given  out.  It  increases  by  expend- 
ing, and  diminishes  by  hoarding.  In  the  matter  of 
comfort,  or  consolation,  "there  is  that  scattereth  and 
yet  increaseth;  but  he  that  withholdeth  more  than  is 
meet,  it  tendeth  to  poverty." 

To  possess  consolation  is  to  give  it,  and  to  give  it 
is  to  possess  it.  This  circle,  when  it  is  set  agoing,  moves 
perpetually,  like  the  sea  giving  out  its  waters  to  the 
sky,  and  the  sky  sending  back  the  boon  by  the  rain 
and  the  rivers  to  the  sea  again.  Nor  is  the  consoler 
cut  short  in  his  labors  for  lack  of  supply.  As  the 
trouble  grows  greater,  the  corresponding  comfort  in- 
creases. However  deep  the  distress  may  be,  he  has 
a  heaven  above  his  head  deeper  than  the  abyss  below, 
to  fill  it  all  with  joy.  His  resources  consist  of  "  the 
fulness  of  the  Godhead  bodily,"  and  in  that  ocean  he 
will  never  touch  the  ground. 

Barnabas  was  a  Levite; — but  why  take  note  of  his 
pedigree,  since  all  are  one  in  Christ .''  There  is  a  reason. 
In  estimating  character  and  giving  each  his  due,  there 
are  two  opposite  e.vtrcmcs,  into  one  or  other  of  which 


104  '^^^^   Church  in   the  House. 

human  judgments,  under  the  influence  of  various  preju- 
dice, continually  tend  to  fall.  Men  err  sometimes  on 
this  side,  sometimes  on  that:  the  Word  of  God  marches 
in  the  midst  and  holds  the  balance  even.  It  throws  out 
an  arm  to  uphold  him  who  is  ready  to  stumble,  now  on 
the  right  side,  now  on  the  left. 

The  priests  and  their  order,  supported  by  the  Phari- 
sees, counted  themselves  righteous  and  despised  others. 
Speaking  for  their  reproof  and  instruction,  the  Lord, 
in  the  parable  of  the  Good  Samaritan,  represented  the 
priest  and  the  Levite  as  self-pleasing  and  unloving — • 
consulting  their  own  ease,  and  refusing  to  help  one  who 
was  ready  to  perish.  This  he  did  in  order  to  show  them 
that  a  sound  creed  and  a  scrupulous  ritual  could  not 
compensate  for  the  neglect  of  charity.  He  taught  them 
that  although  they  were  of  the  family  of  Levi,  and  en- 
rolled in  the  ranks  of  the  hereditary  priesthood,  if  they 
had  not  charity,  their  privileges  profited  them  nothing 
— their  profession  was  as  sounding  brass  and  a  tinkling 
cymbal. 

But  the  Lord  did  not  teach  that  tAX  the  Levites  were 
hard-hearted;  for  here,  by  the  pen  of  the  same  historian, 
Luke,  the  hedge  is  planted  on  the  other  side  of  the  path. 
There  were  then,  and  there  are  to-day,  certain  persons 
and  classes  who  entertain  strong  prejudices  against  all 
ministers  of  religion.  They  seem  to  have  persuaded 
themselves,  or,  at  least,  try  to  persuade  themselves,  that 
ministers  as  a  rule  are  hypocrites.  Accordingly,  they 
delight  to  tell  or  to  hear  stories  in  which  ministers  of 
religion  are  represented  in  an  odious  or  ridiculous  light. 
This  result  is  extremely  natural:  we  have  no  reason  to 
expect  that  it  should  be  otherwise.  The  hypocrites,  of 
course,  deserve  to  be  so  treated;  and  the  true  cannot 
altogether  escape,  because  their  testimony  really  gives 
discomfort  to  people  who  do  not  yield  to  it.  To  put 
the  witness  in  the  wrong  feels  like  putting  themselves 
right,  as  the  sight  of  a  train  running  backwards  on  a 
near  and  parallel  line  of  rails,  beguiles  you  into  the  be- 
lief that  your  train  is  running  forward. 

Barnabas  was  a  Levite — a  religious  teacher.  The 
profane  of  his  day  would  have  been  comforted  if  they 
had  been  able  to  quote  the  parable  of  the  Samaritan  to 
show  that  the  Levites  were  all  sneaking,  selfish  fellows. 


The  Beacon:   Ananias.  105 

But  the  Lord  comes  in  to  protect  the  innocent,  l^ar- 
nabas  was  a  Levite,  but  he  was  not  cold  and  cruel.  The 
opposite  graces  grew  in  his  life,  thick  and  fruitful  like 
wheat  in  a  harvest  field.  This  passage  is  the  counterpart 
of  the  parable — the  hedge  on  the  other  side  of  the  road. 
He  was  of  the  country  of  Cyprus,  an  island  in  the 
Mediterranean.  Even  at  that  date  the  Jews  were  dis- 
persed; yet  they  endeavored  in  their  exile  to  maintain 
the  distinction  of  tribes.  In  respect  to  his  birth-place, 
he  came  out  of  a  bad  nest.  Cyprus  was  occupied  by 
Greeks,  and  latterly  had  been  subdued  by  the  Romans. 
But  as  it  lay  near  the  eastern  shore,  its  people  partook 
of  the  Phoenician  and  Oriental  character.  They  were 
heathen,  and  more.  The  worship  that  prevailed  was 
abominable  even  among  heathen  systems.  Their  re- 
ligion consisted  in  the  consecration  of  vice.  As  a  Jew, 
Barnabas  in  his  youth  must  have  been  carefully  kept 
apart  from  these  profligate  rites;  but  still  he  was  brought 
up  in  an  atmosphere  of  extreme  and  exceptional  wicked- 
ness. Can  any  good  thing  come  out  of  Cyprus  .''  In  the 
Master's  experience,  the  servants  may  obtain  ground 
of  hope.  Nothing  is  too  hard  for  the  Lord.  He  can 
bring  a  clean  thing  out  of  an  unclean.  As  the  sun  draws 
up  pure  water  to  the  sky  out  of  stagnant  pools,  cleansing 
it  in  the  act  of  drawing  it  out;  so  the  Lord  by  the  beam- 
ing of  his  love  can  bring  a  bright  witness  to  himself  from 
amongst  the  most  degraded  population.  Barnabas  was 
of  the  country  of  Cyprus. 


XXII. 

THE  BEACON:  ANANIAS. 


"But  a  certain  man  named  Ananias,  ivith  Sapphira  his  wife,  sold  a 
possession,  and  kept  back  part  of  the  price,  his  wife  also  being  privy  to  it^ 
and  brought  a  certain  part,  and  laid  it  at  the  apostles'  feet."  etc. — Acrs  v. 


To  illustrate  the  remarkable  development  of  brotherly 
love  which  appeared  among  the  first  disciples,  the  his- 


I06  The   Church  in  the  House. 

torian  adduces  two  characteristic  specimens.  The  first 
is  the  case  of  Barnabas,  the  subject  ot'our  last  exposition; 
the  second  is  the  case  of  Ananias,  which  invites  our  at- 
tention now. 

The  two  cases  sprang  from  the  same  movement,  and 
equally  illustrate  the  same  principles;  yet  the' two  cases 
are  not  like  each  other.  They  are  reciprocally  oppo- 
sites.  But  this  is,  in  most  cases,  the  best  method  of 
throwing  light  on  any  subject;  it  is  the  ordinary  way, 
both  in  the  Bible  and  providence.  Both  in  the  sacred 
record  and  in  common  history  examples  of  two  op- 
posite characters  are  frequently  submitted,  in  succes- 
sion or  simultaneously — examples  of  the  good  that 
should  be  imitated,  and  of  the  evil  that  should  be  shunned. 
It  is  as  necessary  to  moor  a  buoy  over  a  rock  or  a  sand- 
bank, as  to  show  a  light  in  a  line  with  the  safe  entrance 
to  the  harbor.  Barnabas  the  Levite,  by  his  deeds  of 
self-sacrificing  love — Barnabas  is  a  light  at  the  pier- 
head, streaming  outward  through  the  night,  marking  for 
the  mariner  the  way  of  life:  Ananias,  dying  with  a  lie 
on  his  lips,  buoys  a  rock  where  many  have  perished, 
and  warns  the  wayfarer  from  the  place  of  doom.  Though 
the  two  men  are  not  alike  good,  both  examples  are 
for  us  alike  useful.  The  death  of  them  that  die  may 
work  for  our  good  as  much  as  the  life  of  them  that  live. 
We  may  reap  profit  alike  from  the  truth  of  the  true, 
and  from  the  lie  of  the  false. 

When  the  Lord  would  teach  his  disciples  how  to 
pray,  he  did  not  count  it  enough  to  exhibit  the  publi- 
can, standing  afar  off,  and  smiting  on  his  breast,  and 
crying,  "God  be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner."  He  placed 
near  that  humble  and  true  suppliant  a  solemn  hypocrite 
thanking  God  that  he  was  not  as  other  men.  When 
the  Master  taught  his  disciples  the  blessedness  of  press- 
ing in  while  the  door  is  open,  he  taught  them  also  how 
dreadful  it  is  to  be,  even  by  a  little,  too  late.  Of  the 
ten  virgins,  five  were  wise,  and  five  were  foolish.  The 
wise  win  souls — their  own;  and  the  foolish  lose  them. 
This  dual  method  is  adopted  everywhere  in  Scripture 
to  enforce  moral  lessons.  In  morals,  as  well  as  in 
physics,  you  exert  greater  power  if  you  apply  at  the 
same  time  an  attraction  on  the  one  side,  and  a  pres- 
sure on  the  other.     Israel  of  old,  and  Israel  now,  are 


The  Beacon:   Ananias.  107 

more  effectively  impelled  toward  righteousness,  if  the 
curse  and  the  blessing  are  proclaimed,  simultaneous  or 
alternate,  from  two  opposite  hills. 

"But  a  certain  man."  The  little  word  "but"  is  the 
hinge  on  which  great  issues  turn.  For  example,  "  The 
wicked  is  cast  away  in  his  iniquity;  but  the  righteous 
hath  hope  in  his  death."  The  door  that  swings  on  this 
sharp  pivot  opens  and  shuts  the  way  of  life.  Sometimes, 
as  here,  it  turns  from  light  to  darkness;  and  sometimes 
from  darkness  to  light.  In  this  case  you  are  conducted 
from  Barnabas  to  Ananias;  you  step  from  the  bright 
sunshine  of  a  loving  Christian  life  to  the  graveyard 
damp  of  a  hollow  hypocrisy — a  spirit  of  darkness  caught 
in  the  act  of  putting  on  the  garment  of  an  angel  of 
light. 

The  plan  was  concocted  by  "  Ananias,  with  Sapphira 
his  wife."  There  is  concert  in  evil.  It  is  not  the  sud- 
den impulse  of  an  unguarded  moment.  It  argues  an 
extreme  hardness  of  heart  when  two  persons,  united 
by  the  tenderest  bond,  plan  a  lie  together,  and  engage 
to  support  each  other  in  carrying  it  out. 

The  persecution  which  the  primitive  Church  endured 
was  an  efficient  means  of  purifying  it.  To  a  great  ex- 
tent the  fire  did  in  fact  purge  the  dross  away.  For  the 
most  part  the  first  disciples  might  be  counted  on  for 
truth  and  sincerity.  But  even  that  terrible  ordeal  could 
not  make  the  society  immaculate;  it  did  not  wash  out 
every  stain;  it  did  not  turn  earth  into  heaven. 

Some  chaff  is  found  among  the  wheat  even  after  the 
fiercest  fanning.  You  may  not  be  able  to  explain  how 
the  fact  has  happened,  but  you  observe  the  fact.  It 
would  be  difficult  to  explain  the  motives  which  induced 
this  pair  of  hypocrites  to  join  the  company  of  the  Chris- 
tians, at  a  time  when  the  profession  of  that  faith  en- 
dangered liberty  and  life.  Nor  is  the  easy-going  ex- 
planation open  to  us,  that  as  good  things  were  going 
among  the  Christians,  they  m.ight  hope  to  get  a  share; 
for,  as  Ananias  was  a  landed  proprietor,  he  could  not 
possibly  expect  to  be  a  receiver.  A  giver,  if  he  joined 
this  society,  he  must  obviously  be. 

There  is  a  deeper,  sadder  cause.  It  is  too  true  that 
the  religious  emotions  may  be  much  stirred,  while  the 
moral  sense  is  not  correspondingly  quickened  and  puri- 


io8  TJie   CJuircJi  in  the  House. 

fied.  There  may  be  much  devotion,  of  a  certain  kind, 
where  honesty  or  truth  or  purity  is  feebly  rooted  and 
liable  to  die  out.  The  gospel  of  Christ  when  under- 
stood and  accepted  tends  to  purify  the  heart  and  life. 
This  can  be  demonstrated  both  from  its  nature  and  its 
results.  Hope  produces  holiness:  "Every  man  that  hath 
this  hope  in  Him  purifieth  himself,  even  as  He  is  pure" 
(i  John  iii.  3).  But  these  two  which  God  hath  joined, 
are  often  put  asunder  by  men. 

It  is  often  said,  and  in  certain  quarters  said  with 
much  passion,  that  a  man  who  docs  not  make  a  pro- 
fession of  religion  is  more  trustworthy  than  a  man  who 
does.  Some  persons  seem  to  take  a  delight  in  affirm- 
ing that  pious  people  are  greatly  given  to  cheating  and 
lying.  It  is  obvious  that  this  opinion  is  grounded  on 
the  common  fallacy  of  magnifying  a  few  glaring  exam- 
ples into  a  general  law.  If  those  who  count  that  all 
piety  is  hypocrisy,  a  mask  worn  to  gain  an  end,  would 
take  time  to  calculate,  they  would  soon  discover  that 
their  theory  cannot  possibly  be  true.  It  destroys  itself. 
The  assumption  is  that  rogues  put  on  the  garb  of  piety  in 
order  to  obtain  credit,  and  having  thus  obtained  credit, 
cheat  the  credulous.  Why  do  dishonest  men  adopt  this 
method.-*  Obviously  because  it  suits  their  purpose.  Be- 
cause they  seem  to  be  religious  men,  people  trust  them. 
But  if  it  were  the  common  rule  that  religious  men  were 
dishonest  men,  they  would  cease  to  obtain  credit:  it 
would  not  pay  a  villain  to  assume  a  religious  profession ; 
and  when  it  ceased  to  pay,  he  would  cease  to  assume  it. 
The  averment  that  bad  men  make  a  profession  of  piety 
in  order  to  cheat  goes  to  prove  that  pious  men,  as  a 
rule,  are  honest. 

But  while  to  this  extent  the  defence  of  Christians 
against  that  calumny  is  clear  and  sure,  I  don't  think  it 
is  right  or  safe  to  deny  the  imputation  altogether. 
There  is  some  truth  in  it.  Indeed,  it  is  the  truth 
which  any  calumny  contains  that  makes  it  formidable. 
Mere  calumny,  altogether  false,  has  no  force,  and  can 
do  no  harm.  It  soon  dies.  But  falsehood  which  has 
some  truth  interfused  lasts  longer,  and  spreads  further. 

I  do  not  refer  to  those  conscious  scoundrels  who, 
having  no  sense  of  religion,  deliberately  make  a  profes- 
sion for  the  purpose  of  gain.     Besides  this  class,  I  own 


After  Judgnioit,   Revival.  109 

that  you  meet  here  and  there  a  man  who  is  not  con- 
sciously to  himself  a  hypocrite — a  man  who  has  been 
moved  in  a  period  of  religious  fervor,  and  who  not- 
withstanding has  not  acquired  a  proper  sense  of  the 
binding  character  of  the  ten  commandments.  In  short, 
there  is  such  a  thing  as  a  piety,  after  a  sort  sincere, 
dissociated  from  truth  and  justice  and  purity. 

The  Antinomian  is  not  a  mere  dried  specimen  found 
fossil  in  the  tomes  of  polemical  theology;  he  is  a  living 
species  of  our  own  era.  He  is  sound  in  his  creed,  and 
evangelical  in  his  opinions,  and  perhaps  zealous  in  pro- 
pagating the  faith;  and  yet  he  has  a  defective  sense  of 
the  distinction  between  right  and  wrong,  fair  and  foul, 
in  the  intercourse  of  life. 

Nor  should  a  true  believer  faint  even  before  such  a 
loathsome  spectacle.  Such  is  the  condition  of  the  soil, 
and  such  the  activity  of  the  "adversary,"  that  tares  do 
here  and  there  spring  up  and  choke  the  good  seed. 
But  let  true  disciples  be  of  good  cheer.  The  seed  is 
the  Word;  and  a  Divine  Sower  has  come  forth  into  the 
world  to  sow  it.  It  will  prevail  over  the  tares  and 
thistles  even  here  in  the  field;  and  at  the  end  of  the 
world  a  separation,  complete  and  eternal,  will  be  made 
between  the  wheat  gathered  into  the  garner  and  every- 
thing that  defileth.  When  the  door  is  shut,  all  within 
will  be  found  true  and  pure. 


XXIII. 

AFTER   JUDGMENT,  REVIVAL. 

^^  And  great  fear  came  upon  all  the  church,  and  upon  as  many  as  heara 
these  things.  Ami  by  the  hands  of  the  apostles  were  many  signs  and  won- 
ders wrought  among  the  people;  (and  they  were  all  7oith  one  accord  in  Solo- 
mon's porch.  And  of  the  rest  durst  no  man  Join  himself  to  them:  Init  the 
people  magnified  them.  And  beliez'ers  'were  the  more  added  to  the  Lord, 
multitudes  both  of  men  and  women,  f — ACTS  V.  11-14. 

The  case  of  Ananias  serves  several   important  ends. 
For  one  thing,  it  bears  a  very  emphatic  testimony  to 


I  lo  The   CJiiircJi   in  the  House. 

truth.  Such  a  testimony  was  needed,  and  therefore  it 
is  given  in  the  record.  Those  who  have  come  into 
personal  contact  with  the  heathen,  the  civilized  as 
well  as  the  savage,  bear  witness  that  the  grand  dif- 
ficulty in  dealing  with  them  lies  in  their  want  of  truth. 
Among  the  native  populations  of  India  you  do  not  find 
a  sense  of  truth  that  can  be  depended  on.  A  merchant 
who  had  resided  a  number  of  years  in  the  Western 
Presidency  narrated  to  me  the  following  case: — 

One  native  sued  another  at  law  for  the  recovery  of 
a  loan.  He  adduced  witnesses,  who  proved  clearly 
and  minutely  that  he  had  lent  the  accused  a  certain 
specific  sum  at  a  certain  place  and  time.  When  the 
defender  was  called  to  plead,  he  distinctly  owned  that 
he  had  received  the  money  according  to  the  testimony 
of  the  witnesses,  but  called  other  witnesses,  who  proved 
with  all  clearness  and  fulness  that  on  a  certain  day  and 
at  a  certain  place  he  had  repaid  it.  He  was  absolved. 
An  Englishman  who  knew  the  defender,  and  knew  that 
he  had  never  received  the  loan,  asked  him  why  he  had 
acknowledged  a  debt  which  was  not  due.  He  replied 
that  the  debt  was  legally  proved  against  him  by  false 
witnesses;  that  he  had  not  witnesses  to  refute  their 
evidence;  but  that  as  his  adversary  had,  at  small  cost, 
proved  the  debt,  he  had  been  able  as  cheaply  to  prove 
repayment.  He  had  no  alternative  but  to  meet  one 
falsehood  with  another.  Such  is  heathenism,  even 
where  it  is  cultivated  and  refined. 

The  judgment  that  fell  on  Ananias  and  Sapphira  is 
of  the  nature  of  a  miracle.  A  true  miracle  is  never 
wrought  unless  when  there  is  a  worthy  object  to  be  at- 
tained. Now,  falsehood  in  the  very  heart  of  the  world 
was  a  great  barrier  in  the  way  of  the  infant  Church. 
The  new  society  founded  by  Christ  was  beginning  its 
career  in  a  world  that  lacked  truth.  It  was  difficult  to 
build  even  that  Divine  edifice  without  a  foundation, 
without  something  in  humanity  of  which  it  might  take 
hold.  Unless  the  Church  find  or  generate  truth,  it  will 
not  overcome  the  world;  it  will  sink  as  in  a  mire.  At 
the  outset  a  pen  of  iron  and  the  point  of  a  diamond 
must  be  employed  to  print  truth,  as  on  the  rock  for 
ever.  A  blow  must  be  dealt  against  falsehood,  which 
will  vibrate  down  to  the  end  of  time,  giving  all  men  to 


After  Judgment,  Revival.  1 1 1 

know  that  the  lie  which  is  cherished  in  the  bosom  of 
the  world  must  be  cast  out  from  the  body  of  Christ. 

From  the  beginning  till  now  the  Christian  Church  is 
exposed  to  two  distinct  dangers;  it  is  liable  to  be  as- 
sailed from  without,  and  to  be  corrupted  from  within. 
It  is  in  danger  from  open  enemies,  and  from  false 
friends.  This  spiritual  body,  like  the  natural,  may  be 
injured  either  by  the  stroke  of  an  adversary  or  by  poi- 
son mingled  with  its  food. 

In  the  infancy  of  the  Church  the  hand  of  the  Lord 
was  directly  stretched  out  for  its  preservation  on  eith- 
er side.  While  the  Church  was  a  child  the  everlasting 
arms  were  thrown  around  it;  on  one  side  it  was  pro- 
tected from  the  violence  of  the  persecutor,  and  on  the 
other  from  the  corrupting  effect  of  falsehood  within  its 
own  bosom.  In  the  fourth  chapter  we  learn  that  the 
Lord  interfered  to  keep  the  persecutor  off;  in  the  fifth, 
that  he  interfered  to  cast  the  leaven  of  hypocrisy  out. 
Enemies  shall  not  be  permitted  to  crush  the  Church 
by  power;  falsehood  shall  not  be  permitted  to  poison 
the  springs  of  her  life. 

In  the  beginning,  when  the  system  of  the  world  was 
first  set  agoing,  there  were  miracles;  but  miracles  do 
not  interpose  to  carry  the  system  on.  At  the  begin- 
ning of  Christ's  kingdom  in  the  world  miracles  came 
to  its  aid;  but  miracles  are  not  needed,  and  are  not  em- 
ployed in  its  ordinary  administration. 

That  the  system  of  the  world  is,  proves  there  was 
once  a  miracle;  that  the  Church  of  Christ  is,  proves 
that  it  was  established  by  a  miracle.  The  death  of 
Ananias  and  Sapphira  is  the  arm  of  the  Lord  revealed 
to  deliver  the  body  of  the  Church  in  her  youth  from  a 
consumption  which,  if  not  so  checked,  might  have 
brouglit  her  down  to  an  early  grave,  although  no 
breath  of  persecution  had  ever  blown  upon  her.  We 
learn  here  that  the  work  of  God  to  cast  out  of  the  body 
the  poison  that  would  secretly  undermine  the  life  is  as 
stupendous  as  his  work  to  shield  the  Church  from  the 
power  of  her  foes.  Danger  of  dissolution  through  in- 
ternal corruption  is  as  great  as  the  danger  of  destruc- 
tion by  external  violence. 

The  question  put  to  Ananias  by  Peter  is  suggestive: 
"  Why  hath  Satan  filled  thine  heart.'"     Satan  is,  and 


112  The  CJnirch  in  the  House. 

acts.  Evil  in  man  is  not  originally  a  spontaneous 
growth.  It  required,  so  to  speak,  two  factors — the 
soil  and  the  seed.  The  seed  was  injected  by  an  ad- 
versary. An  enemy  hath  done  this.  The  revelation 
that  sin  in  our  race  had  a  definite  beginning  and  an 
alien  author  leaves  room  for  the  blessed  hope  which 
the  gospel  brings  to  light, — the  hope  of  ultimate  and 
final  deliverance. 

But  though  the  suggestion  of  evil  is  attributed  to 
Satan,  the  question  is  addressed  to  Ananias.  This  in- 
timates, that  he  could  have  closed  the  door  of  his  heart 
against  it,  if  he  would.  Give  not  place  to  the  devil; 
and  wanting  "place"  given  by  yourself,  he  has  no  foot- 
hold to  strike  any  blow.  The  real  strength  of  the  de- 
fence of  Paris  against  the  Germans  lay  in  occupying 
beforehand  all  the  positions  in  the  neighborhood  from 
which  the  city  could  have  been  assailed.  The  Parisians 
took  care,  as  far  as  they  could,  not  to  give  place  to 
their  adversary. 

Satan  filled  the  heart  of  Ananias;  Barnabas  was 
filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost.  The  human  spirit  is  ca- 
pacious, and  it  cannot  remain  void.  It  must  be  fiHed 
with  good  or  evil.  These  two — the  Spirit  of  holiness 
and  the  Spirit  of  evil — cannot  dwell  together  in  one 
room.     They  cast  each  other  out,  like  night  and  day. 

As  a  result  of  these  events,  great  fear  came  upon  the 
Church  itself,  and  also  upon  the  surrounding  spectators. 

Great  fear  came  upon  the  Church.  It  is  a  healthful 
symptom,  a  needful  discipline.  "Lord,  is  it  I  V  "  Let 
him  that  thinketh  he  standeth  take  heed  lest  he  fall." 

It  is  of  the  wicked  one  that  these  dark  deeds  occur, 
but  it  is  of  the  Lord  that  their  occurrence  is  recorded 
in  the  Word.  It  was  Christ  himself  that  said,  "  Re- 
member Lot's  wife."  Many  centuries  after  the  fact,  he 
directed  that  it  should  be  kept  in  memory.  These  dark 
monuments  have  obtained  a  place  in  the  Word  that 
liveth  and  abideth  for  ever,  that  their  warning  may  be 
available  in  all  nations  and  all  times. 

Fear  came  also  on  as  many  as  heard.  As  a  natural 
consequence  we  learn  that  "of  the  rest  durst  no  man 
join  himself  to  them."  This,  however,  does  not  in- 
timate that  subsequently  there  were  few  accessions. 
The  opposite  is  immediately  declared.     Great  multi- 


After  Judgment,   Revival.  113 

tudcs  were  then  and  there  added  to  the  Lord,  and 
enrolled  in  the  membership  of  the  Church.  The  mean- 
ing is,  that  those  who  were  not  of  them  dared  not 
pretend  to  be  of  them.  The  stroke  of  judgment  scared 
the  h}-pocrites  :  but  believers  came  flowing  in  like  a 
stream.  Believers  were  "the  more"  added;  that  is, 
the  judgment  upon  the  false  professors  hastened,  in- 
stead of  hindering,  conversions.  This  terror  of  the 
Lord  effectually  persuaded  men  to  take  refuge  in  his 
mercy. 

Believers  were  added  to  the  Lord.  It  was  not  enough 
that  their  names  were  found  in  the  communicants'  roll. 
Your  life,  ye  living,  is  hid  with  Christ  in  God.  The 
living  branch  is  in  the  vine,  and  also  intertwined  with 
its  sister  branches.  All  its  life  depends  on  being  in 
the  vine;  although  some  portion  of  its  fairness  and 
fruitfulness  may  depend  on  its  being  interlaced  in  bonds 
of  love  with  other  branches. 

And  multitudes  were  added.  This  is  the  common 
experience  still.  A  great  number  come  at  one  time 
with  a  rush;  and  a  period  of  comparative  barrenness 
supervenes.  Again  there  is  a  revival,  and  again  a  period 
of  coldness.  From  the  beginning,  tides  have  flowed 
and  ebbed  in  the  Church  as  in  the  ocean.  This  phe- 
nomenon, springing  in  the  inspired  record,  observed 
from  time  to  time  throughout  the  course  of  ecclesiasti- 
cal history,  and  emerging  in  bold  features  within  the 
range  of  our  own  memory,  is  fitted  to  touch  our  hearts 
and  impart  a  solemn  lesson.  Has  the  tide  risen  in  my 
time,  and  carried  in  many  on  its  wave,  and  am  I  left 
without  and  behind  }  Even  when  the  heaving  of  the 
spiritual  tide  in  my  neighborhood  has  ceased,  the  door 
is  not  thut.  We  are  as  welcome  when  we  come  one 
by  one  as  when  we  press  in  with  the  crowd.  Now  is 
the  accepted  time:  whosoever  will,  let  him  come. 

"  Both  men  and  women."  The  inspirer  of  the  Word 
is  the  Spirit  of  wisdom.  There  was  a  reason  for  speci- 
fying that  the  converts  were  not  all  of  one  sex.  This 
feature  of  the  narrative  throws  out  right  and  left  a 
needful  warning.  The  converts  were  not  exclusively 
men,  for  the  gospel  owns  and  elevates  and  enfranchises 
woman.  It  is  in  the  Word  and  Law  of  her  Maker  that 
her  claim  of  equality  is  secured.     It  is  a  bright  inci- 


114  T^^^   ChurcJi   in  the  House. 

dental  glory  of  the  gospel  that  it  reinstates  woman  in 
her  original  place,  as  the  adequate  and  equal  compan- 
ion of  man — the  necessary  complement  of  his  being. 
Women  have  cause  to  love  the  Lord.  They  owe  to 
his  Divine  and  discriminating  wisdom  not  only  their 
home  in  heaven  when  they  are  redeemed,  but  also  their 
rightful  place  in  the  society  of  time. 

Nor  women  exclusively:  for  when  the  Word  comes 
in  power  it  makes  quick  work  with  that  lordly  pride 
in  which  men  wrap  themselves,  when  they  select  phil- 
osophy or  politics  as  their  sphere,  and  leave  religion 
to  women.  Under  this  outpouring  of  the  Spirit  these 
high  things  were  brought  low,  and  these  crooked  things 
made  straight.  When  the  apostles  in  their  first  fervor 
preached  Jesus  and  the  resurrection,  strong  men  bent 
their  heads  and  wept,  and  cried,  What  must  we  do  to 
be  saved  .''  Good  for  these  strong  men  that  they  yielded, 
ere  it  was  too  late,  to  the  melting  power  of  grace;  for 
what  would  their  strength  avail  in  the  day  of  the  Lord  .■* 


XXIV. 

HO IV  THE  SEED   GREW. 

"  Theit  the  high  priest  rose  up,  a7id  all  they  that  were  with  him  (which 
is  the  sect  of  the  Sadducees) ,  and  were  filled  with  indignation,'"'  etc. — Acts 
V.  17-26. 

Although  the  people  in  their  zeal  endeavored  to  place 
their  sick  under  the  shadow  of  Peter  as  he  passed,  it 
is  not  said  that  any  were  healed  specifically  by  that 
method.  There  is,  however,  no  ground,  on  the  other 
side,  to  deny  the  possibility  of  such  a  case.  It  was 
the  design  of  the  Lord  at  that  time  to  magnify  the 
apostles  in  the  eyes  of  the  multitude,  in  order  that 
popular  favor  might  shield  them  from  the  hatred  of 
the  chiefs,  and  so  preserve  their  lives  for  subsequent 
service.  There  was  thus  a  specific  use  for  such  miracles 
as  would  tend  to  increase  the  people's  veneration  for 
the  preachers  of  the  Word. 


Hoiv  tJic  Seed  grezv.  1 1 5 

It  is  not  expressly  said  (v.  17)  that  the  hic^h  priest, 
whether  Caiaphas  or  Annas,  was  himself  a  Sadducee. 
It  is  more  probable  that  he  was  a  Pharisee,  and  that 
he  obtained  the  support  of  his  rivals  in  persecuting  the 
Christians.  Though  the  two  sects  were  at  daggers 
drawn  between  themselves,  they  were  reconciled  at 
once  when  an  opportunity  occurred  of  joining  hands 
to  crucify  Christ  in  his  members. 

The  central  point  of  the  apostles'  testimony  was 
the  resurrection  of  Jesus.  This  stirred  especially  the 
enmity  of  the  Sadducees.  They  maintained  the  dismal 
creed  that  there  is  no  resurrection,  neither  angel  nor 
spirit.  They  were  more  offended  by  witnesses  of  a  fact, 
than  by  preachers  of  a  doctrine.  Though  they  had  no 
creed  themselves,  they  bore  a  willing  hand  in  hunting 
down  those  who  believed. 

The  spirit  of  the  Sadducees  is  not  contemptible  for 
influence  and  numbers  in  our  day.  The  broad  Church, 
in  its  fully  developed  form,  is  a  dangerous  enemy  to  the 
true  Church.  The  Church  may  be  destroyed  by  the 
admission  of  unbelievers,  as  well  as  by  the  ejection  of 
believers. 

One  of  the  phases  of  modern  indifference  is  the  favor 
with  which  persons  of  influence  regard  the  proposal  to 
endow  indiscriminately  all  sects  and  creeds.  It  is  the 
firmness  of  the  people  opposing  the  tendencies  of  poli- 
ticians that  has  hitherto  prevented  the  Papacy  from 
being  acknowledged  and  maintained  by  the  State.  It 
is  not  that  political  parties  concur  in  believing  that 
Romanism  is  true;  they  only  observe  that  it  is  pow- 
erful, and  they  wish  its  power  to  be  exerted  on 
their  side. 

The  angel  of  the  Lord  opened  the  prison  doors. 
These  preternatural  interpositions  were  not  intended 
to  remove  the  witnesses  beyond  the  reach  of  the  perse- 
cutors; for  in  each  case  the  liberated  apostles  remained 
on  the  spot  and  repeated  their  testimony.  The  design 
was  to  bring  a  moral  power  to  bear  on  both  the  judges 
and  the  populace.  It  was  an  appeal  to  the  magistrates 
to  restrain  them  from  persecuting;  and,  in  case  it  should 
fail  on  that  side,  an  appeal  from  unjust  power  to  the 
sympathies  of  the  common  people.  In  this  way  it 
pleased  their  Divine  Protector  to  execute  at  that  time 


ri6  The   CJuu'cJi  in  the  House. 

his  own  command, — "Touch  not  mine  anointed;  and 
do  my  prophets  no  harm." 

The  angel  opened  the  prison,  and  carried  to  the 
prisoners  the  Master's  message,  that  they  should  con- 
tinue to  preach  the  gospel;  but  the  angel  himself  does 
not  preach.  You  never  find  an  angel  calling  on  sinners 
to  repent.  There  is  not  a  gospel  according  to  the  an- 
gel. Angels  are  like  little  children,  employed  to  carry 
letters  to  the  Master's  friends.  They  may  try  to  peep 
into  the  contents  on  the  way,  but  they  cannot  compre- 
hend the  meaning. 

The  name  applied  by  the  angel  to  designate  the  gos- 
pel of  Christ  is  worthy  of  notice.  He  calls  it  "this 
life."  Here,  doubtless,  the  messenger's  memory  was 
faithful,  for  it  is  likely  that  the  Lord  who  sent  him 
would  himself  give  it  that  designation.  It  was  he  who 
said,  "  I  am  the  resurrection  and  the  life."  In  sight  of 
the  angels  a  new  life  had  sprung  up  in  the  world,  differ- 
ent from  any  they  had  witnessed  hitherto. 

The  message  further  bears  that  the  liberated  apos- 
tles should  continue  to  speak  the  "-words  of  this  life." 
These  are  the  seeds  from  which  the  new  life  springs; 
the  sowers  must  go  forth  and  sow  them.  It  is  as  if  in 
our  sight  a  new  and  better  kind  of  vegetation  should 
burst  from  the  ground,  more  beautiful  and  more  fruitful 
than  any  that  had  hitherto  been  known.  We  should, 
in  such  a  case,  examine  curiously,  and  gather  carefully, 
and  sow  again  those  precious  seeds.  "The  seed  is  the 
Word,"  and  the  Word  is  the  seed — the  seed  of  this  new 
life  that  grows  on  the  old  soil.  Go  spread  it  on  the 
field,  and  keep  nothing  back:  speak  '■'all  the  words  of 
this  life." 

It  is  of  use  to  remember  here,  that  it  was  beside 
a  grave  that  Jesus  uttered  the  words,  "  I  am  the  resur- 
rection and  the  life."     It  is  light  in  darkness. 

And,  finally,  in  this  brief  but  pregnant  message 
which  the  angel  bore,  the  apostles  are  instructed  to 
speak  all  the  words  of  this  life  "  to  the  people!'  There 
is  no  respect  of  persons  here;  no  pandering  to  rank  and 
power.  The  true  enfranchisement  of  the  common  peo- 
ple lies  in  the  gospel  of  Christ.  Would  that  the  strug- 
gling, bleeding  nations  could  see  it  !  If  the  Son  make 
them  free,  they  shall  be  free  indeed. 


Hoiv  tJic  Seed  gr CIV.  wj 

When  the  civil  and  ecclesiastical  authorities  (ver.  24) 
ascertained  the  facts,  "they  doubted  of  them  whereunto 
this  would  <j;^ro\v."  Some  glimmer  of  lii^ht  has  penetrated 
at  last.  They  are  not  so  confident  now  in  the  efficacy 
of  their  own  prescription,  "Speak  no  more  in  this  name." 
They  begin  to  discover  that  this  Word,  which  they  at- 
tempted by  a  short  process  to  crush,  is  a  thing  with  life 
in  it:  they  suspect  that  it  will  grow.  They  were  right. 
It  had  begun  to  grow.  They  feared  its  growth,  for  they 
felt  it  was  their  enemy.  So  Pharaoh  had  a  presentiment 
that  Israel  would  grow — grow  too  great  to  be  kept  in 
bondage  —  and  commanded  that  the  male  children 
should  be  drowned.  But  infant  Moses  was  drawn  out 
of  the  water,  and  grew — grew  to  be  the  deliverer  of 
Israel,  the  scourge  of  Egypt. 

Herod  had  a  presentiment  that  the  Babe  born  in 
Bethlehem  would  "grow"  till  he  should  reach  the  king- 
dom, and  dealt  a  cruel  blow  against  the  young  child's 
life.  But  the  child  grew,  and  Herod  must  stand  before 
the  judgment-seat  of  Christ.  "Be  wise  now  therefore, 
O  ye  kings:  be  instructed,  ye  judges  of  the  earth.  Kiss 
the  Son,  lest  he  be  angry,  and  ye  perish." 

Casting  our  eye  backward  in  the  light  of  Scripture 
on  those  successive  efforts  by  the  powers  of  this  world 
to  crush  that  living  Word,  which  is  the  only  seed  of  a 
new  life  for  men,  we  may  well  "rejoice  with  trembling" 
over  its  wonderful  preservation  from  age  to  age.  He 
who  sits  King  upon  the  floods  had  said,  "Destroy  it  not, 
for  a  blessing  is  in  it;"  and  therefore  it  was  preserved. 

Suppose  a  world  full  of  human  inhabitants  with  a 
short  store  of  prepared  food,  but  with  no  seed  which 
might  produce  a  continued  supply — a  whole  world  with- 
out a  single  grain  of  living  seed.  Suppose  now  that  a 
messenger  from  another  orb  should  come  with  a  single 
grain  of  wheat.  Can  you  conceive  the  care  with  which 
the  gift  would  be  cherished  .''  Can  you  conceive  the  hor- 
ror that  would  seize  upon  the  multitudes  if  they  thought 
the  precious  grain  was  in  danger  of  being  crushed  } 

The  seed  of  the  Word  was  cherished  and  preserved, 
not  by  men,  for  they  knew  not  that  it  was  their  life,  but 
by  the  loving  and  wise  providence  of  God.  The  seed, 
sown  in  the  ground  when  Jesus  died,  grew  to  dimensions 
that  the  Jewish  rulers  recked  not  of.     In  our  day  it  has 


Ii8  The  CJuirch  in  the  House. 

grown  great;  after  our  day  it  will  grow  greater.  The 
kingdoms  of  this  world  shall  become  the  kingdoms  of 
our  God  and  of  his  Christ. 

When  the  magistrates  received  a  report  from  their 
officers  that  the  prisoners  had  escaped,  and  left  the  doors 
of  the  prison  standing  open  (ver.  23),  they  were  amazed. 
They  knew  not  what  to  make  of  it.  But  while  they 
hesitated,  another  messenger  arrived  (ver.  25),  announ- 
cing, not  that  the  prisoners  had  fled,  which  would  have 
been  a  natural  and  easily  comprehended  course,  but 
that  they  were  "standing  in  the  Temple  and  teaching 
the  people." 

Here  is  a  still  greater  difficulty.  This  is  not  a  case 
of  ordinary  escape  from  prison.  These  men  do  not  save 
themselves  when  safety  is  within  their  reach.  This 
step  in  the  experience  of  the  servants  is  the  duplicate 
of  one  that  occurred  to  the  Master.  When  the  band 
came  to  arrest  him  (John  xviii.  6),  he  cast  them  to  the 
earth  by  his  look.  He  showed  them  that  he  might 
escape,  and  yet  surrendered  himself  to  their  will.  It 
was  another  appeal  to  their  hearts.  If  they  yield,  it  is 
well;  but  if  they  resist,  it  will  harden  them  the  more. 
So  with  the  apostles  here;  the  Lord  sent  his  angel  and 
set  his  servants  free.  He  showed  the  persecutors  that 
they  had  no  power  over  these  men,  "except  it  were 
given  them  from  above."  But  having  done  this,  the 
Master  left  the  witnesses  in  their  enemies'  hands.  His 
will  was,  that  his  servants  should  neither  flee  nor  fight; 
that  they  should  preach  the  cross,  and  bear  it;  that  they 
should  overcome  as  he  had  overcome,  by  enduring. 

Stolid,  like  the  band  that  seized  Jesus  in  the  gar- 
den, they  went  to  the  Temple  and  arrested  the  apos- 
tles; but  aware  by  this  time  of  the  favor  with  which 
the  populace  regarded  them,  they  led  the  prisoners 
gently  into  the  presence  of  the  court.  But  not  only 
did  the  officers  offer  no  violence  to  the  apostles  in  ar- 
resting them,  the  apostles  offered  no  resistance  to  the 
arrest.  Such  was  the  temper  and  attitude  of  the  crowd, 
that  the  officers  feared  a  rescue  if  they  should  apply 
force.  Peter  and  John  were  sharp  enough  to  observe 
the  situation.  They  had  nothing  more  to  do  than 
make  some  show  of  resistance,  and  a  disturbance 
vvould  have  taken  place,  in  which  they  could  escape. 


Again   at   the  Bar.  119 

But  this  was  not  in  their  way.  They  understood  better 
the  instructions  of  their  Lord.  Had  these  two  men, 
who  bore  the  first  brunt  of  the  persecution,  adopted 
the  method  of  savin<^  themselves  by  favor  of  a  riotous 
nuiititudc,  the  Christian  Church  mii::^ht  never  have  ob- 
tained a  footing^  in  the  world.  If  they  had  taken  the 
sword,  they  would  have  perished  by  the  sword.  They 
witnessed  and  suffered:  so,  the  blood  of  the  martyrs 
became  the  seed  of  the  Church. 


XXV. 

AGAIN  AT  THE  BAR. 

"  And  xvhen  they  had  brought  them,  they  set  them  before  the  council:  and 
the  high  prit-st  asked  them,  saying.  Did  not  loe  strait ly  command  you  that 
ye  should  not  teach  in  this  name?  and,  behold,  ye  have  filled  ferusale/n  with 
your  doctrine,  and  intend  to  bring  this  man's  blood  upon  us.  Then  Peter 
and  the  other  apostles  ans'wered  and  said.  We  ought  to  obey  God  ratlur  than 
men.'' — Acts  v.  27-29. 

Again  the  apostles  are  placed  at  the  bar  and  exam- 
ined. The  accusation  this  time  is  simply  that  they 
had  not  complied  with  the  former  judgment.  The 
magistrates  had  enjoined  them  not  to  speak  any  more 
in  that  Name,  and  now  they  charge  the  panels  with 
contempt  of  court.  Peter  and  John,  however,  although 
they  had  disobeyed  the  order  of  the  Sanhedrim,  had 
not  broken  their  own  parole,  for  they  had  given  no 
parole  in  the  case;  on  the  contrary,  they  had  declared, 
in  the  face  of  the  tribunal,  that  they  would  continue  to 
preach  in  the  name  of  Jesus. 

The  judges  on  this  occasion  are  thinking,  not  of  how 
they  may  discover  the  truth  regarding  the  accused,  but 
how  they  may  provide  for  their  own  safety.  "Ye  have 
filled  Jerusalem  with  your  doctrine,  and  intend  to  bring 
this  man's  blood  upon  us."  It  is  not  a  question  of  truth 
and  justice;  these  men  do  not  seem  capable  of  rising  to 
such  thoughts.  They  believed  that  the  apostles  were 
working  up  the  multitude  to  demand  vengeance  upon 


I20  The   Church  in  the  House. 

the  rulers  for  the  murder  of  Jesus.  It  was  a  vulgar  fear 
for  their  own  skin  that  inspired  these  contemptible  in- 
triguers who  sat  on  the  bench  of  justice  that  day  in 
Jerusalem. 

"  Ye  mean  to  bring  this  man's  blood  upon  us  !  " 
And  they  trembled  for  their  own  base  lives  in  presence 
of  the  excited  populace.  It  is  a  sad  scene  for  us  who 
can  look  at  leisure  on  it,  and  look  beyond  it.  How 
near  the  kingdom  they  seem  to  be  ! — "  this  man's 
blood  upon  us;  "  and  yet  they  think  of  that  blood  only 
as  vengeance;  they  have  gotten  no  glimpse  of  its  aton- 
ing power.  "Who  is  blind,  but  my  servant  .-*  "  They 
who  sit  in  Moses'  seat  reject  the  Prophet  whom  Moses 
promised. 

It  is  interesting  to  observe  how  shy  the  rulers  are 
of  introducing  the  name  of  Jesus.  They  say  "  this 
name"  and  "this  man,"  but  they  do  not  venture  to 
pronounce  his  name.  This  stone  which  the  builders 
rejected  is  dreadful  to  the  rejecters.  They  seem  al- 
ready to  labor  under  some  dim  conception  that  upon 
whomsoever  it  shall  fall,  it  shall  grind  him  to  powder. 
On  the  other  hand,  in  proportion  as  the  rulers  avoid 
that  name,  the  apostles  cleave  to  it.  To  them  it  is  a 
name  above  every  name.  In  all  these  troubles  they 
continually  presented  it  as  a  shield  over  their  heads. 
That  name  of  the  Lord  is  a  strong  tower;  and  these 
righteous  men,  in  every  danger,  run  into  it. 

Another  concise  and  sublime  word,  spoken  by  Peter 
and  assented  to  by  his  companions — "We  ought  to 
obey  God  rather  than  men."  We  who  have  all  our 
days  been  familiar  with  it,  do  not  perceive  its  grand- 
eur. Are  not  all  these  who  speak  Galileans  .-'  Whence, 
then,  hath  this  man  this  wisdom  .''  He  speaks  as  he 
is  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  This  courage  is  not 
earth-born.  "Every  good  and  every  perfect  gift  is 
from  above,  and  cometh  down  from  the  Father  of 
lights."  The  apostles  had  prayed  specially  for  cour- 
age to  speak  God's  Word:  they  had  asked,  and  now 
they  received. 

How  much  the  world  owes  to  the  word  that  Peter 
uttered  before  the  Sanhedrim  that  day  !  It  is  the  foun- 
dation of  all  the  true  liberty  that  exists  in  the  world. 
On  this  rock — the  word  that  the  Holy  Spirit  spake  by 


Again  at  the  Bar.  12 1 

Peter's  lips — has  the  liberty  of  the  Church  been  built, 
and  the  ^^^atcs  of  Hell  shall  not  prevail  against  it. 

Nothing  that  rested  on  the  world  could  resist  and 
overcome  the  world.  Here  is  a  word  let  down  from 
heaven,  a  word  that  livcth  and  abideth  for  ever.  By- 
leaning  on  this,  human  liberty  has  been  able  to  main- 
tain a  footing  on  the  world  during  the  dark  centuries 
that  are  past;  and  that  liberty  wherewith  the  Son 
has  made  his  people  free,  is  waxing  apace,  as  the  dawn 
advances  into  day.  Freedom  of  conscience — the  sub- 
jection of  a  human  spirit  to  God,  and  its  emancipation 
therefore  from  all  inferior  control — is  deposited  here 
in  the  ground  as  a  living  seed.  Thence  it  has  sprung 
and  spread:  thence  it  will  spring  and  spread  until  all 
superstition  and  tyranny  shall  be  swept  away. 

The  power — the  paramount  value  of  this  heaven- 
sent principle — has  never  and  nowhere  been  more  clear- 
ly illustrated  than  in  the  history  of  our  own  country. 
It  is  the  action  of  this  principle  in  conflict  with  per- 
secuting rulers  that  has  made  our  land  illustrious  among 
the  nations.  Especially  it  is  this  aspect  of  Divine  truth 
that  has  imparted  to  Scotland  its  peculiar  historical 
character.  Woe  to  the  fatherland  if  a  degenerate  race 
should  arise  who  should  be  ashamed  of  the  conflicts  in 
which  our  liberty  was  won  !  When  it  becomes  fash- 
ionable to  laud  the  chivalry  of  Claverhouse,  and  cast 
ridicule  or  bestow  pity  on  the  rudeness  or  fanaticism 
of  his  victims,  the  golden  age  of  our  country  is  gone. 
The  suffering  unto  death  for  liberty  of  conscience  en- 
nobled the  men  of  that  day,  and  secured  liberty  for 
their  descendants.  We  are  like  sons  who  have  inher- 
ited the  wealth  that  their  fathers  won:  a  humble,  thank- 
ful spirit  becomes  us.  We  should  maintain  and  improve 
our  heritage. 

Critics  have  noticed  the  structure  of  Peter's  brief 
defence  as  one  of  the  finest  specimens  of  pleading  on 
record.  It  is  a  proof  that  the  promise,  "It  shall  be 
given  you  in  that  hour  what  ye  shall  speak,"  was  amply 
fulfilled.  It  is  clear  and  cogent;  it  is  very  short,  but 
it  is  long  enough.  The  speaker  says  all  that  is  need- 
ful, and  stops  when  he  is  done.  In  this  short  space 
he  defends  himself,  confounds  his  adversaries,  and  com- 
mends Christ  to  the  bystanders.    The  address  assumes 


122  TJie  Church  in  the  House. 

the  form  of  a  syllogism,  which  would  not  have  been  so 
remarkable  in  the  lips  of  Paul,  but  which  we  are  sur- 
prised to  find  in  the  unpremeditated  defence  of  the 
simple  and  impetuous  fislierman.  After  announcing 
the  general  principle,  that  wherever  God  claims  obedi- 
ence man's  claim  must  stand  in  abeyance,  he  proceeds 
to  show  that  this  case  comes  under  the  rule.  "The 
God  of  our  fathers;"  he  takes  care  to  trace  all  up  to 
the  God  of  Israel,  whom  the  Sanhedrim  acknowledged. 
Peter  and  John  did  not  stand  before  the  priests  as  aliens, 
guilty  of  subverting  the  Jewish  faith  or  the  Jewish  com- 
monwealth. He  claims  to  be  with  themselves  an  Is- 
raelite, and  interested  as  much  as  they  in  the  inherit- 
ance of  Israel.  "The  God  of  our  fathers  raised  up  Jesus, 
whom  ye  slew."  The  point  of  the  arrow  is  at  their 
breast  again.  He  will  not  spare  them.  In  one  sense 
he  is  in  their  power;  but  in  another  they  are  in  his. 
They  tremble  in  their  seats  under  this  home-thrust. 
"Ye  slew;"  for  they  compelled  Pilate  to  pronounce 
sentence  of  death.  Nor  does  the  preacher  spare  them 
the  aggravation — "and  hanged  on  a  tree."  They  knew 
the  curse  and  shame  associated  with  the  cross.  "Whom 
ye  slew,  him  hath  God  exalted."  He  pillories  the  priests 
as  the  enemies  of  God,  the  crucifiers  of  the  Messiah. 

But  this  bold,  unsparing,  personal  piercing  is  not 
the  dictate  of  anger  or  revenge.  All  that  dross  has 
been  purged  out  of  the  witness  by  the  baptism  at  Pen- 
tecost. The  servants  are  about  their  Master's  business. 
They  are  feeling  for  an  opening  into  the  consciences 
of  their  judges,  that  they  may  introduce  the  gospel. 
They  intimate  that  God  hath  exalted  Jesus  to  be  a 
Prince  and  a  Saviour;  a  King  to  rule,  and  a  Redeemer 
to  forgive.  They  offer,  through  this  Redeemer,  repent- 
ance to  Israel  and  remission  of  sins.  The  preachers 
have  an  eye  both  to  the  magistrates  and  the  bystanders. 
They  cherish  no  enmity  against  the  persecutors.  Their 
rule  already  is,  all  things  to  all  men,  in  order  that  they 
may  save  some.  The  judges  who  oppressed  them,  and 
the  populace  who  for  the  time  favored  them,  are  all 
alike  in  the  eyes  of  these  witnesses.  The  business  of 
the  apostles  is  to  win  souls,  and  this  precious  gain  is 
alike  welcome  from  all  quarters.  To  the  judges  on  the 
bench;  to  the  young  advocates,  such  as  Saul  of  Tarsus, 


Exalted  to   Give.  123 

who  might  be  hanging  about  the  precincts  of  the  court; 
to  the  spectators;  to  the  officers;  to  all  alike  the  suf- 
fering witness  proclaimed  repentance  and  remission  of 
sins  in  the  name  of  Jesus.  And  who  shall  tell  whether 
Saul,  through  Peter's  word,  received  an  arrow  in  his 
heart,  which  would  not  out  by  all  his  intemperate  zeal 
to  crucify  Christ  in  his  members,  and  which  at  last 
bro'ught  the  furious  persecutor  down  to  the  dust  before 
the  gates  of  Damascus.  The  witnesses  were  careful  to 
sow  beside  all  waters,  not  knowing  which  of  their  words 
might  fail,  and  which  might  bear  fruit  unto  life  eternal. 


XXVI. 

EXALTED    TO   GIVE. 

"  The  God  of  our  fathers  raised  up  fesiis,  whom  ye  sle7v  and  hanged  on 
a  tree.  Ilini  hath  God  exalted  -with  his  right  hand  to  be  a  Prince  and  a 
Saviour,  for  to  give  repentance  to  Israel,  and  forgiveness  of  sins." — Acts 
V.  30,  31- 

The  murderer  is  haunted  by  the  ghost  of  his  victim. 
The  haunting  is  real,  although  it  may  exist  only  in  the 
mind  of  the  criminal.  It  is  of  God  that  the  shadow 
should  follow  and  torment  him.  It  is  a  part  of  the 
sublime  machinery  of  Providence  constructed  for  the 
punishment,  and  so  for  the  prevention,  of  crime.  It  is 
one  of  the  lines  of  defence  thrown  around  human  life 
by  the  Creator's  watchful  care. 

All  history  teems  with  examples  to  show  that  the 
innocent  blood  which  tyrants  have  shed  rises  up  to 
avenge.  Witness  Herod:  his  courtiers  imagined  they 
would  interest  their  master  when  they  told  him  of  the 
might)'  miracles  performed  by  Jesus.  But  the  news 
only  filled  him  with  horror.  The  gory  head  of  the 
Baptist  came  back;  and  though  the  murderer  shut  his 
eyes,  he  was  compelled  to  see.  He  could  only  jeply 
to  his  officious  informants:  "It  is  John  the  Baptist, 
whom  I  beheaded;  he  is  risen  from  the  dead."  Many 
a  time  and  oft  the  Baptist  "rose"  in  the  haunted  im- 


124  T^^^^   C  J  lurch  in  the  House. 

agination  of  that  unjust  judge.  When  the  victim  rises, 
the  murderer  undergoes  a  righteous  retribution.  He 
gave  no  mercy;  and  in  his  blind  terror  he  expects 
none. 

These  high  priests  who  had  compassed  the  death 
of  Christ  were  in  Peter's  address  compelled  to  undergo 
this  inevitable  sentence,  "Whom  ye  slew,  God  has  ex- 
alted." Their  victim  has  risen,  and  the  murderers 
tremble.  Woe  to  them  if  he  whom  they  crucified  is 
exalted  !  They  showed  him  no  mercy,  and  they  ex- 
pect none  at  his  hands. 

But  come,  ye  crucifiers  of  Christ,  come  to  him  and 
be  forgiven.  Take  the  truth  which  fell  once  from  your 
own  lying  lips,  "  This  man  receiveth  sinners."  That 
sneer  becomes  now  the  hope  of  your  souls.  It  is  be- 
cause he  receiveth  sinners  that  now,  when  he  is  ex- 
alted, he  will  not  put  forth  his  power  for  vengeance. 
"  Him  hath  God  exalted  to  be  a  Prince  and  a  Saviour, 
for  to  give  repentance  to  Israel,  and  remission  of  sins." 
Strange  and  attractive  word  !  Exalted  to  give  !  When 
these  Jewish  rulers,  who  had  sworn  his  life  away  before 
the  tribunal  of  the  Roman  governor,  heard  first  of  his 
resurrection,  they  remonstrated  with  the  witnesses — • 
"  Ye  intend  to  bring  this  man's  blood  upon  us."  The 
resurrection  of  Jesus  had  no  other  meaning  to  them 
than  vengeance  coming  on  their  own  heads.  They 
reasoned,  If  he  whom  we  slew  is  exalted,  woe  unto  us. 
But  it  is  to  these  very  men  that  the  apostles  preach 
pardon.  They  proclaim  that  Jesus  is  exalted  for  the 
purpose  of  showing  mercy  to  his  murderers.  He  is  ex- 
alted to  give;  and  he  gives  even  to  them — he  gives  to 
all,  and  upbraideth  not.  Now  that  he  is  exalted,  and 
his  enemies  are  in  his  power,  instead  of  taking  ven- 
geance, he  gives  remission  of  sins. 

Fi.x  your  minds  on  this  precious  word.  It  belongs 
to  us  as  well  as  to  them.  It  is  over  all,  like  the  vital 
air.  In  this  end  of  the  world,  it  is  as  cold  waters  to 
thirsty  souls  to  hear  that  Christ  is  exalted  in  order 
that  he  might  more  largely  "give."  In  the  Seventy- 
second  Psalm  this  remarkable  promise  concerning  the 
Messiah  is  found, — "  He  shall  come  down  like  rain  up- 
on the  mown  grass:  as  showers  that  water  the  earth" 
(verse  6).     It  is  true,  as  elsewhere  written,  that  God 


Exalted  to   Give.  125 

*'giveth  us  rain  from  heaven,  and  fruitful  seasons." 
But  a  greater  gift  is  here.  It  is  not  he  shall  bcstoiv  the 
rain,  but  he  shall  be  the  rain.  Not  he  shall  send  down 
the  rain,  but  he  shall  come  down  as  the  rain.  This  re- 
freshing is  by  the  presence  of  the  Lord. 

The  water  is  exalted  into  the  heavens  in  order  that 
it  may  give  rain  upon  the  earth:  it  is  exalted  to  give. 
It  is  drawn  up,  as  by  a  resurrection;  and  arises  pure 
into  the  heavens,  that  it  may  be  in  a  capacity  to  send 
refreshing  to  the  thirsty  ground.  In  the  same  way,  he 
who  comes  as  rain  on  the  mown  grass  was  exalted  that 
he  might  give — that  he  might  give  himself,  as  the  liv- 
ing water  to  his  own. 

This  exalted  Giver  bestows  every  kind  of  good.  He 
is  head  over  all  things  to  his  Church.  Every  good  and 
perfect  gift  is  from  above.  But  the  fundamental  bene- 
fit— the  boon  without  which  all  others  would  be  of  no 
avail — is  the  twin  gift  promised  in  the  text,  "repent- 
ance and  forgiveness  of  sins." 

These  two  go  together  to  constitute  one  whole  re- 
demption. These  two  God  hath  joined,  as  he  has  joined 
right  and  left  sides  of  a  body  to  make  one  organized 
life.  As  well  might  the  contending  mothers  at  Sol- 
omon's judgment-seat  be  comforted  by  getting  each  a 
half  of  the  divided  child,  as  any  sinner  expect  to  be 
either  safe  or  happy  with  one  of  these  gifts  if  he  wanted 
the  other.  These  two  are  one;  to  separate  is  to  destroy 
them. 

Forgiveness  of  sin  is  an  act  of  the  supreme  God,  and 
repentance  is  an  act  of  sinful  man;  and  yet  both  are  the 
gift  of  the  risen  Redeemer.  It  is  not  like  two  portions 
of  an  extended  straight  line;  it  rather  resembles  two 
halves  of  one  great  revolving  ring.  As  it  goes  rapidly 
round,  all  in  one  solid  piece,  it  seems  sometimes  as  if 
this  half  were  impelling  that;  and  sometimes  as  if  that 
half  were  impelling  this.  From  one  point  of  view,  re- 
pentance in  the  man  seems  to  draw  forgiveness  from 
God;  from  another  point  ofview,  forgiveness  freely  given 
by  God  seems  to  work  repentance  in  the  man.  In  some 
sense  both  these  views  are  true;  but  the  one  is  not  a 
living  truth  apart  from  the  other.  It  is  the  circle  that 
revolves,  not  either  half  of  it.  One  thing  we  know, 
that  the  whole  circle  and  all  its  movements  have  been 


126  TJie   CJnircJi  in  the  House. 

bestowed  as  a  free  gift  by  him  who  is  exalted  a  Prince 
and  a  Saviour.  It  is  true  that  repentance  draws  par- 
don from  God;  and  it  is  also  true  that  pardon  from  God 
bestowed  free  makes  the  sinner's  heart  melt  in  penitence. 

It  is  true  that  Christ  says,  "  If  any  man  open,  I  will 
come  in;"  but  it  is  also  true  that  no  one  would  open 
unless  he  were  moved  and  won  by  the  plaintive  voice 
of  the  Divine  Endurer,  "  Behold,  I  stand  at  the  door 
and  knock."  It  is  the  opening  from  within  that  lets  the 
Saviour  enter;  but  it  is  the  pressure  of  the  long-suffer- 
ing Saviour  without,  that  causes  the  fastenings  of  the 
closed  heart  to  give  way  at  length.  "  The  kingdom 
of  heaven  suffereth  violence,  and  the  violent  take  it  by 
force."  We  are  accustomed  to  think  of  this  as  a  de- 
scription of  faith's  agonizing  pressure  at  the  gate  of 
heaven's  mercy;  and  the  thought  is  right.  But  the 
phrase,  in  the  light  of  Scripture,  has  another  and  greater 
meaning.  Christ  himself  is  the  strong  man  who  by 
force  casts  out  the  usurper,  and  spoils  his  goods  and 
occupies  his  room.  The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  within 
us.  And  if  it  come  not  first  into  us,  we  shall  never 
enter  into  it.  Now  this  kingdom  suffereth  violence; 
the  mighty  One  takes  it  by  force.  The  force  he  ap- 
plies is  this  same  "forgiveness  of  sins."  It  is  forgiving 
love,  streaming  from  Christ  exalted,  and  beating  on  the 
closed  gate  of  a  human  heart,  that  drives  the  fastenings 
in  at  length,  and  floods  it  to  its  brim. 

We  cannot  determine  the  precise  point  at  which 
the  process  begins.  We  cannot  be  certain  that  it  be- 
gins in  all  cases  at  the  same  point.  In  the  circle  which 
consists  of  forgiveness  and  repentance,  I  do  not  know 
the  very  point  which  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  touches  in 
order  to  communicate  motion.  All  that  I  know  is  that 
he  gives  it  motion;  and  that  when  one  point  moves, 
all  points  move. 

And  this  wheel  is  like  Ezekiel's,  "so  high  that  it  is^ 
dreadful."  The  upper  part  of  its  rim  is  in  the  heavens, 
while  its  lower  edge  rolls  upon  the  earth.  Forgiveness 
of  sin  is  an  act  done  by  God;  it  is  an  official  act  of  the 
Judge  on  the  great  white  throne.  Repentance  is  a  work 
and  a  rending  and  a  melting  here  on  earth.  It  goes 
on  within  a  human  heart.  The  lower  part  of  this  circle 
is  in  the  chambers  of  a  sinner's  heart  here;  and  yet  every 


Gil  via  lid.  127 

movement  of  a  hair's-brcadth  in  that  deep  place  is  ac- 
companied by  a  corresponding  movement  on  high. 

"  There  is  joy  in  heaven,  in  the  presence  of  the  angels, 
over  one  sinner  that  repenteth."  Repentance  in  the 
deep  places  of  your  soul  is  so  connected  with  the  foun- 
tain of  grace  in  God,  that  the  slightest  movement  here 
is  felt  there. 

I  dare  not  say  that  in  any  case  "there  is  repentance 
in  man  before  there  is  forgiveness  from  God;  neither 
can  I  dare  to  say  that  in  any  case  there  is  forgiveness 
with  God  before  there  is  repentance  in  the  man.  But  I 
know  that  wherever  may  be  the  spot  where  movement 
begins,  the  whole  system  moves  together.  In  propor- 
tion as  my  soul  draws  by  repenting,  God  gives  by  par- 
doning; and  in  proportion  as  God  gives  by  pardoning, 
my  soul  receives  through  repenting.  When  the  re- 
ceiving channel  is  clogged,  the  outflowing  channel  is 
left  dry;  when  the  outflowing  channel  is  filled  by  a  rush- 
ing flood,  the  clogs  that  choked  the  receiving  channel 
are  washed  away,  and  there  is  a  great  refreshing. 

There  is  one  obvious  practical  lesson  that  should  be 
interposed  here — it  is  repentance  that  lies  to  our  hand. 
It  is  with  it  that  we  have  to  do.  Our  business  is  to 
repent. 

These  two  were  joined  in  Peter's  own  experience. 
When  Peter  had  denied  his  Lord,  the  Lord  looked  on 
Peter;  that  look  conveyed  pardon,  and  the  repenting 
disciple  went  out  and  wept  bitterly. 


XXVII. 

GAMALIEL.- 


"  IVhcit  they  heard  that,  they  were  cut  to  the  heart,  and  took  counsel  to 
slay  them,^^  etc. — ACTS  V.  33-42. 

The  word  on  Peter's  lips  was  "sharper  than  a  two- 
edged  sword."  The  audience  were  cut  to  the  heart. 
Such  convictions  cannot  pass  away  without  some  prac- 


128  The  CJiurcJi   in   the  House. 

tical  result.  They  will  either  melt  the  heart  on  which 
they  fall,  or  make  it  harder.  Those  who  have  trembled 
like  Felix  under  the  preached  word  will  either  submit 
to  the  gospel  or  resist  it  with  increased  enmity. 

In  the  case  of  judges  and  rulers,  if  there  is  not  true 
penitence,  the  enmity  reveals  itself  in  active  persecu- 
tion; but  in  private  life  the  convictions  that  are  resisted 
are  for  the  most  part  kept  secret.  When  conviction  rip- 
ens into  conversion  and  peace,  the  fact  becomes  known  in 
the  Christian  brotherhood:  but  those  piercings  which 
are  successfully  resisted  seldom  become  known  beyond 
the  breast  of  the  convict.  When  he  overcomes  his  con- 
victions, he  keeps  the  conflict  to  himself;  when  his  con- 
victions overcome  him,  his  friends  will  hear  of  his  sur- 
render. I  think  there  is  many  a  conflict  between  Christ 
and  the  world  which  is  never  blazed  abroad  in  history. 
When  the  world  wins,  and  shuts  the  door  in  the  face 
of  Jesus,  the  strong  man  armed  not  only  keeps  his  goods 
in  peace,  but  keeps  his  victory  a  secret.  When  the  lion 
has  caught  his  prey,  he  devours  it  in  silence. 

At  first  the  prevailing  opinion  in  the  court  was  that 
measures  should  be  taken  forthwith  to  secure  the  death 
of  these  two  troublesome  preachers.  The  Jewish  rulers 
thought  that  they  should  carry  out  the  policy  which 
they  had  already  begun,  and  treat  the  scholars  as  they 
had  already  treated  the  Master.  At  this  juncture  they 
were  turned  from  their  cruel  purpose  by  the  politic 
persuasion  of  one  of  their  own  number,  "  named  Gama- 
liel, a  doctor  of  the  law,  had  in  reputation  among  all 
the  people."  On  his  suggestion  the  accused  were  re- 
moved from  the  bar,  that  the  court  might  deliberate 
in  private  on  their  sentence.  In  the  private  conference, 
Gamaliel  succeeded  in  persuading  them  that  it  would 
be  wiser  in  all  the  circumstances  to  desist,  and  leave 
the  case  to  Providence. 

In  ancient  times  the  opinion  prevailed  that  Gama- 
liel interfered  from  secret  sympathy  with  the  Christians. 
There  is  an  ecclesiastical  tradition  that  he  became  a 
disciple.  It  was  thought  by  many  that  he  was  already 
in  secret  a  Christian  when  he  exerted  his  influence  to 
save  the  lives  of  Peter  and  John. 

The  prevailing  opinion  in  modern  times  is  different. 
Later  critics  have  thoug-ht  that  it  ag'rees  better  with 


Gamaliel.  129 

all  the  circumstances  to  suppose  that  Gamaliel  was 
really  a  Pharisaic  Jew,  that  he  had  no  sympathy  with 
the  disciples  of  Jesus,  and  that  he  continued  to  the  end 
an  unbeliever. 

He  was  indeed  a  calmer  and  fairer  man  than  any  of 
his  fellows.  Besides,  being  a  leadinj^  doctor  of  his 
sect,  he  had  a  personal  and  party  interest  in  protecting 
the  apostles  at  this  crisis;  for  the  real  root  of  the  charge 
against  them  was  their  doctrine  of  the  resurrection. 
The  apostles  were  suffering  under  Sadducean  influence 
for  the  very  doctrine  which  the  Pharisees  maintained 
as  their  distinguishing  characteristic.  The  Sadducees 
were  the  movers  at  this  stage  of  the  persecution,  and 
they  moved  in  it  because  the  resurrection  of  the  body, 
as  taught  by  Peter  and  John  in  connection  with  Jesus, 
went  to  demolish  the  corner-stone  of  their  distinctive 
system. 

As  the  Sadducees  gave  their  influence  against  the 
apostles  because  they  preached  through  Jesus  the  res- 
urrection from  the  dead,  it  was  natural  that  the  Phari- 
sees should  draw  back  when  they  discovered  that  by 
joining  in  the  persecution  they  were  in  effect  strength- 
ening the  hand  of  their  rivals.  Gamaliel,  accustomed 
to  lead  his  party,  seems  to  have  discovered  as  the  case 
advanced  that  the  Pharisees  had  glided  unawares  into 
a  false  position.  He  found  that  in  swelling  the  triumph 
of  the  Sadducees  in  their  crusade  against  the  witnesses 
of  the  resurrection,  they  were  mining  the  ground  under 
their  own  feet.  Accordingly,  by  a  cautious  speech  and 
a  temporizing  motion,  he  succeeded  in  extricating  his 
party  from  the  scrape  into  which  they  had  inadvert- 
ently stumbled. 

In  all  that  lay  between  the  Pharisees  and  the  Chris- 
tians, Gamaliel  was  a  Pharisee  and  anti-Christian;  but 
in  as  far  as  the  Sadducees  were  compassing  the  death 
of  Peter  and  John  for  asserting  the  resurrection  of  the 
dead,  he  felt  that  his  proper  place  was  on  the  side  of 
the  apostles,  and  against  the  rival  sect.  At  a  subse- 
quent stage  of  the  history,  Paul  employed  the  conflict 
between  the  two  parties  on  this  very  point,  to  rend 
asunder  the  cordon  which  his  united  enemies  had 
drawn  around  him;  and  through  the  opening  made  his 
escape.     (Chap,  xxiii.  6.) 


130  TJie   CJmrcJi  in  the  House. 

The  Lord  over  all  is  wont  to  cleave  a  path  through 
hosts  of  foes,  as  through  the  sea,  when  he  desires  to 
set  his  imprisoned  servants  free  for  further  usefulness. 
If  there  had  been  no  divisions  in  Israel, — if  the  nation 
at  that  time  had  not  been  arrayed  in  two  hostile  camps 
against  each  other,  the  witnesses  might  have  been 
crushed  at  the  outset  of  their  career.  In  this  way  God 
in  providence  divides,  that  he  may  conquer  the  strong, 
and  so  deliver  the  weak  out  of  their  hands. 

A  remarkable  parallel  is  found  in  the  division  of 
Israel  into  two  rival  kingdoms  after  the  death  of  Sol- 
omon, and  the  consequent  preservation  of  the  Penta- 
teuch from  wilful  adulteration.  The  mutual  jealousy 
between  Samaria  and  Jerusalem  rendered  mutilation 
or  addition  impossible.  In  the  same  way  the  Script- 
ures were  preserved  from  interpolation  in  the  earlier 
Christian  ages — before  the  invention  of  printing — by 
the  mutual  jealousies  between  the  Roman  Church  and 
the  various  sectaries  that  successively  arose  and  as- 
serted their  liberty.  Between  Pharisees  and  Sadducees 
there  was  a  rent,  and  the  apostles  went  out  free:  be- 
tween Ephraim  and  Judah  there  was  a  rent,  and  the 
Pentateuch  came  through  entire. 

The  proposal  of  Gamaliel,  with  the  reasons  which 
supported  it,  have  been  much  canvassed  by  modern 
critics;  but  I  suppose  the  view  generally  taken  now 
is  that  it  does  not  manifest  great  depth  of  wisdom  in 
the  court.  The  philosophy  of  the  speech  is  flimsy,  and 
its  religion  more  than  doubtful.  It  is  probable  that 
the  Sanhedrim  were  by  this  time  frightened  at  their 
own  shadows, — in  bodily  fear  lest  the  people  should 
rise  in  insurrection,  otherwise  they  would  not  have 
yielded  so  readily  to  the  arguments  which  the  great 
doctor  advanced.  Probably  Gamaliel  knew  very  well 
that  his  reasoning  was  weak;  but  he  perceived  also 
that  it  was  sufficient  to  afford  an  excuse,  which  the 
court  wanted,  for  dismissing  the  panels  from  the  bar. 
His  reasoning  is  substantially  though  not  formally  a 
dilemma.  He  says  in  effect:  The  cause  is  either  of  God 
or  of  men:  if  it  is  of  God,  ye  cannot  overthrow  it,  and 
therefore  in  that  case  you  should  let  it  alone;  if  it  is 
of  men,  it  will  crumble  to  pieces,  and  in  that  case  also 
you  should  let  it  alone. 


Gamaliel.  131 

To  this  notable  piece  of  wisdom  they  all  agreed.  I 
suspect  they  desired  to  reach  this  conclusion  with  a 
view  to  their  own  safety,  otherwise  they  would  not  have 
reached  it  on  such  grounds.  Persecutors  are  neither 
consistent  nor  dignified.  The  prisoners,  though  un- 
convicted, were  beaten  in  presence  of  the  court,  and 
dismissed  with  a  command  to  preach  no  more  in  the 
name  of  Jesus.  The  court  might  have  understood  by 
this  time  that  they  might  as  well  command  the  tide 
not  to  rise  on  the  beach  as  command  these  men  to 
hold  their  peace. 

The  disciples  "departed  from  the  presence  of  the 
council  rejoicing:"  and  what  was  the  ground  of  their 
gladness.'*  That  they  were  set  at  liberty.-'  No;  but 
that  they  were  counted  worthy  to  suffer  shame  for  his 
name.  What  a  word  !  And  what  a  thought !  It  was 
new  in  the  world.  The  world  was  incapable  of  com- 
prehending the  idea  which  inspired  these  martyrs.  This 
joy  of  theirs  was  as  new  and  strange  as  if  a  second  sun 
had  appeared  in  the  sky.  This  is  a  joy  which  their  Re- 
deemer gives — a  joy  that  no  man  talceth  from  them. 

Again  they  grandly  disobeyed  the  impotent  orders 
of  the  Sanhedrim.  Everyday,  in  public  and  in  private, 
they  continued  to  teach  and  preach  Jesus  Christ.  There 
is  a  great  lesson  in  this  last  word.  It  is  not  enough 
to  say  they  preached.  The  power  lies  not  in  the  act, 
but  in  the  object.  They  pressed  Christ  as  a  Divine 
Redeemer  to  the  hearts  of  weary  men.  This  is  the 
true  apostolical  succession — to  know  nothing  as  a  cure 
for  men's  sin  but  Jesus  Christ  and  him  crucified;  and 
no  sin  which  his  blood  cannot  wash  away.  None  but 
Christ  for  any;  and  Christ  sufficient  for  all. 


132  The   CJunxJi   i)i   tJic  House. 

XXVIII. 

THE  DEACONS. 

^^  And  in  those  days,  ru hen  ike  number  of  the  disciples  was  nmltiplied, 
there  arose  a  murjuurijig  of  the  Grecians  against  the  I/ebre7vs,  because  their 
loidows  7uere  neglected  in  the  daily  ministration,'^  etc. — Acts  vi.  1-6. 

As  an  introduction  to  the  narrative  of  the  discontent 
that  sprang  up,  it  is  intimated  that  "the  number  of  the 
disciples  was  multipHed."  We  gather  here  that  the 
bulk  of  the  society  had  something  to  do  with  the  trou- 
bles that  arose.  In  a  large  community  certain  disor- 
ders are  apt  to  occur,  from  which  a  smaller  body  may 
be  comparatively  free.  It  was  necessary  to  institute 
new  offices  to  meet  new  demands. 

But  besides  the  increased  numbers,  we  must  also 
take  into  account  the  liberal  provision  for  the  poor  that 
had  been  made  through  the  generosity  of  a  fresh  young 
faith.  It  is  remarkable  that  both  the  internal  disorders 
— the  hypocrisy  recorded  in  chapter  v.,  and  the  mur- 
murings  recorded  in  chapter  vi. — sprang  directly  from 
the  open-handed  charity  exercised  towards  the  poor. 
In  that  rich  soil,  several  rank  weeds  suddenly  sprang 
up,  to  test  and  exercise  the  wisdom  and  faithfulness  of 
the  infant  Church.  The  falsehood  of  Ananias,  and  the 
discontent  of  the  Hellenists,  grew  in  different  compart- 
ments of  the  same  field.  One  root  of  bitterness  grew  in 
the  givers,  and  another  in  the  receivers.  Both  are  re- 
corded, that  Christians  in  subsequent  ages  might  be 
warned  on  either  side. 

From  the  beginning  hitherto,  the  Church  has  been 
exposed  to  manifold  dangers  at  the  point  where  she 
comes  into  necessary  contact  with  the  world.  How 
many  sorrows  and  how  many  sins  have  sprung  up  with 
gifts — with  money!  Contributions  are  necessary:  with- 
out them,  even  the  faith  of  disciples  would  often  be 
crippled  in  its  action  for  want  of  instruments.  But  the 
contributions,  especially  in  large  bodies  and  in  an  arti- 
ficial state  of  society,  afford  a  cover  in  which  the  ad- 
versary conceals  himself  when  he  seeks  to  devour. 


TJie  Deacons.  133 

Both  givers  and  receivers  need  to  be  watchful.  No 
Church  on  earth  can  be  free  altogether  from  danger 
here.  Our  prayer  should  be,  not  that  \vc  should  be 
taken  out  of  the  world,  but  that  we  should  be  kept 
from  the  evil.  Great  liberality  is  a  beautiful  fruit  ot 
faith;  yet  in  this  sweet  fruit  a  worm  may  gnaw. 

Hitherto  the  apostles  had  personally  superintended 
the  distribution  of  the  gifts.  It  was  not  possible  that 
they  should  take  charge  of  every  detail.  The  work 
must  have  been  to  a  large  extent  delegated.  It  was 
natural  that  Jews  of  Palestine  should  in  the  first  in- 
stance be  employed.  These  would  be  best  acquainted 
with  their  own  countrymen;  and  so  it  might  happen 
that  the  native  poor  were  at  first  better  provided  for 
than  the  poor  Jews  who  had  been  born  in  Greek  countries 
and  understood  only  the  Greek  tongue.  How  far  the 
grievance  was  real,  and  how  far  sentimental,  we  do  not 
know;  we  know  only  the  fact  that  the  Hellenists  com- 
plained of  undue  partiality  in  favor  of  the  Palestinians. 
Murmurings  are  dangerous  to  the  peace  and  prosperity 
of  the  Christian  society.  As  soon  as  the  apostles  heard 
of  the  complaint,  they  took  effective  measures  to  sat- 
isfy, and  so  remove  it.  They  surveyed  the  case,  and 
promptly  formed  their  resolution.  At  a  glance  they 
perceived  that  if  the  same  methods  should  be  contin- 
ued, they  must  personally  attend  more  minutely  to  the 
details  of  the  distribution.  But  this  would  distract 
their  attention,  and  occupy  their  time  with  secondary 
affairs,  to  the  manifest  detriment  of  their  chief  work, 
the  ministry  of  the  Word. 

A  new  order  of  officials  must  be  appointed  to  su- 
perintend this  business.  The  apostles,  in  the  first  in- 
stance, made  up  their  own  mind  as  to  the  kind  of  office 
that  should  be  instituted,  and  the  qualifications  which 
the  officials  should  possess;  then  they  submitted  their 
proposal  with  reasons  to  "  the  brethren."  Thereupon 
"the  whole  multitude"  accepted  the  proposal,  and  at 
once  proceeded  to  choose  fit  and  proper  persons  for 
this  specific  work.  Having  elected  the  seven  deacons, 
they  presented  them  to  the  apostles.  The  apostles  on 
their  part  accepted  the  choice  of  the  people,  and  or- 
dained the  deacons  by  prayer  and  the  imposition  of 
hands. 


134  ^•^^^'   CJiiircli  in  the  House. 

In  making  the  proposal  regarding  the  institution  of 
the  deacons,  the  apostles  state  briefly  the  grounds  of 
their  decision.  These  grounds  are  permanently  true 
and  precious.  The  foundation  so  laid  will  bear  more 
than  the  particular  weight  then  and  there  imposed. 
If  the  apostles  declined  to  administer  charitable  gifts 
to  poor  disciples,  lest  it  should  interfere  with  their 
spiritual  ministry,  many  other  things,  if  they  had  lived 
in  our  days,  they  would  have  declined  for  the  same 
reason.  It  becomes  all  Christian  ministers  to  walk 
humbly  in  the  apostles'  footsteps,  rather  than  to  set 
up  an  exclusive  claim  on  some  transcendental  ground, 
to  be  accounted  their  successors. 

It  is  eminently  worthy  of  regard,  that  although  the 
specific  work  to  which  the  deacons  were  in  the  first  in- 
stance called  was  the  distribution  of  money  and  other 
material  gifts,  a  necessary  qualification  for  office  is,  that 
they  be  "full  of  the  Holy  Ghost."  Grace  in  large 
measure  is  announced  to  be  a  necessary  requisite  in 
one  who  shall  handle  "  the  outward  things  of  the  house 
of  God."  It  is  on  this  border  belt,  where  the  Church 
and  the  world  meet,  that  corruption  is  apt  to  spring; 
and  it  is  especially  important  that  those  who  are  called 
to  duty  in  that  sphere  should  be  eminently  spiritual 
men. 

In  distinguishing  the  specific  sphere  of  the  deacon, 
the  apostles  incidentally  define  their  own.  This  defi- 
nition is  of  great  value.  The  duties  of  their  office  are 
"prayer,  and  the  ministry  of  the  word."  Like  the  rest 
of  the  "acts"  recorded  in  this  book,  and  in  strong  con- 
trast with  the  flimsy  and  fantastic  ideas  of  the  sub-ap- 
ostolic age,  the  definition  exhibits  both  the  clearest 
logic  and  the  broadest  common  sense.  The  work  con- 
sists of  two  parts;  and  these  two  are  arranged  in 
their  natural  order.  By  prayer  they  ^r/  from  God,  and 
through  the  ministry  of  the  Word  they  give  to  men. 
Like  Paul,  they  are  "vessels;"  the  vessels  must  first 
be  filled,  and  then  they  bear  about  and  spread  the 
blessed  Name  that  fills  them.  We  find  no  priesthood 
and  no  ritualism  here.  These  two  constitute  the  apos- 
tolic ministry  as  understood  and  explained  by  the 
apostles.  They  knew  their  own  mind  better  than 
monks  of  the  Middle  Ages.     It   is  in  the   Scriptures 


Tlic   Deacons.  1 3  5 

that  you  breathe  the  free  fresh  air  of  heaven;  when  you 
descend  into  the  arena  of  the  fathers,  real  mountains 
and  mist-clouds  are  so  intermingled  that  you  cannot 
distinguish  with  certainty  between  them. 

Pra}'er  and  preaching,  alternate  or  simultaneous,  are 
the  right  and  left  side  of  a  living  ministry.  The  preach- 
ing work  may  be  laboriously  and  conscientiously  per- 
formed without  comfort  and  without  success  if  the  other 
side  be  from  any  cause  paralyzed.  I  watched  once  with 
interest  the  operations  of  a  brick-maker  in  a  field  of 
clay.  There  was  great  agility  in  his  movements.  He 
wrought  by  piece,  and  the  more  he  turned  out  the  higher 
was  his  pay.  His  body  moved  like  a  machine.  His 
task  for  the  time  was  simply  to  raise  a  quantity  of  clay 
from  a  lower  to  a  higher  level,  by  means  of  a  spade. 
He  threw  up  one  spadeful,  and  then  he  dipped  his  tool 
in  a  pail  of  water  that  stood  by.  After  every  spadeful 
of  clay  there  was  a  dip  in  the  water.  The  operation 
of  dipping  the  spade  occupied  almost,  if  not  altogether, 
as  much  time  as  the  raising  of  the  clay.  My  first  thought 
was,  if  he  should  dispense  with  these  apparently  use- 
less baptisms,  he  might  perform  almost  double  the 
amount  of  work.  My  second  thought  was  wiser;  on  re- 
flection I  saw  that  if  he  had  attempted  to  continue  the 
work  without  the  alternate  washings,  the  clay  would 
have  stuck  to  the  tool,  and  his  progress  would  have  been 
altogether  arrested.  Right  well  did  the  skilful  work- 
man know  that  to  plunge  his  instrument  in  water  every 
time  it  was  used  furthered  and  did  not  hinder  his  work. 
Indeed,  it  was  this  that  made  his  work  possible. 

I  said  to  myself,  Go  thou  and  do  likewise.  The  min- 
istry of  the  Word,  as  the  world  goes,  is  like  the  effort 
of  the  workman  to  lift  the  clay;  prayer  is  the  baptism 
which  makes  progress  quick — makes  progress  possible. 


136  The  ClmrcJi  in  the   House. 

XXIX. 

TROUBLES  BEARING  BLESSED  FRUITS. 

"  And  the  word  of  God  increased;  and  the  number  of  the  disciples  niiil- 
tip  tied  in  Jentsaleiti  greatly ;  and  a  great  company  of  the  priests  were  obedient 
to  the  faith.  And  Stephen,  full  of  faith  and  power,  did  great  wonders 
and  miracles  among  the  people,'"  etc. — ACTS  VI.  7-15' 

These  wise  and  prompt  measures  were  immediately 
followed  by  blessed  results.  The  murmuring  was  si- 
lenced. The  irritating  leaven  of  discontent  was  cast 
out  of  the  Church.  This  was  done,  not  by  a  high-handed 
authority,  exerted  to  silence  the  murmurers,  but  by 
acknowledging  the  existence  of  the  grievance,  and  in- 
stantly devising  the  means  of  redressing  it.  Justice 
was  administered  at  once;  there  was  no  vexatious  delay. 
The  boon  was  bestowed  gracefully,  and  left  no  sting. 
There  was  no  taunt.  The  redress  was  complete  as  well 
as  prompt;  for  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  all,  or 
nearly  all,  the  deacons  appointed  belonged  to  the  sec- 
tion that  complained.  All  the  seven  have  Greek  names. 
This  does  not  necessarily  imply  that  they  were  all 
Hellenists,  for  many  Palestinian  Jews  bore  Greek  names. 
Andrew  and  Philip,  in  the  college  of  the  twelve,  bear 
names  that  are  purely  Greek,  and  yet  they  were  natives 
of  Palestine.  These  two,  although  really  Hebrews,  may 
have  had  some  family  connection  with  Greeks.  Besides 
their  names,  there  is  the  interesting  circumstance,  that 
when  some  Greek  strangers  at  Jerusalem  (John  xii.) 
desired  to  obtain  an  interview  with  Jesus,  it  was  to 
these  two  disciples  that  they  applied  for  an  introduc- 
tion. It  is  probable  that  most  of  the  elected  deacons 
were  Hellenists;  for  it  was  in  order  to  satisfy  that  sec- 
tion of  the  Christians  that  the  appointment  was  made. 
There  is  great  wisdom  in  this  straightforward  and 
frank  mode  of  dealing.  It  takes  all  the  bitterness  away, 
and  sweetens  the  breath  of  the  society.  Best  of  all,  it  re- 
moves the  hindrance,  and  promotes  the  spread  of  the 
Word.  Divisions  impede  the  progress  of  the  kingdom; 
but  divisions  wisely,  generously,  promptly  healed,  not 


Troubles    bearing  blessed  Fruits.  137 

only  restore  matters  to  their  former  condition,  but  carry 
the  common  cause  further  forward.  When  a  broken 
bone  is  healed,  the  limb  is  strong-er  than  it  was  before. 
Thus  it  often  happens  in  Christian  communities,  that 
Avhere  faith  and  lov^e  are  in  exercise,  incidental  difficul- 
ties become  the  occasion  of  edification  and  progress, 
according  to  the  promise  that  God  will  make  all  things 
work  together  for  good  to  his  own.  The  troubles,  in 
regard  to  the  distribution  of  charity,  that  threatened 
the  peace  of  the  Church,  became  the  occasion  of  dis- 
pla\-ing  truth  and  love  and  fairness  in  the  character  of 
the  leaders,  and  so  a  new  impulse  was  communicated 
to  the  common  work.  "The  word  of  God  increased, 
and  the  number  of  the  disciples  multiplied  in  Jerusa- 
lem greatly." 

Of  the  seven  men  Stephen  comes  first  to  the  front, 
and  stands  out  the  chief.  After  him  Philip  is  distin- 
guished in  the  apostolic  history.  These  two  men,  of 
one  spirit,  were  led  by  different  paths,  and  employed  in 
different  kinds  of  service.  Stephen  suffered  early,  and 
Philip  preached  long.  The  Lord  had  need  of  both  as 
his  witnesses.  Stephen  by  his  faithfulness  unto  death, 
and  Philip  by  his  faithfulness  in  life,  served  the  Lord  in 
their  generation;  and  now  they  rejoice  together. 

Without  explanation  and  without  comment  the  nar- 
rative proceeds  to  intimate  that  these  men,  chosen  and 
ordained  for  the  specific  duty  of  distributing  the  Church's 
charity,  proceeded  forthwith  to  preach,  and  to  preach 
with  power  and  success,  the  gospel  of  the  kingdom. 
Stephen  was  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost  and  of  faith;  we  need 
not  therefore  be  surprised  that  he  could  not  limit  himself 
to  the  serving  of  tables.  The  very  qualities  which  rec- 
ommer.ded  him  for  that  office,  carried  him  beyond  it. 
He  burst  through  the  borders  of  his  own  special  depart- 
ment. He  volunteered  apostle's  work  in  addition  to 
the  work  of  a  deacon  which  had  been  prescribed  to 
him.  No  one  interposed  to  restrict  his  efforts  within  the 
narrower  sphere.  I  take  the  facts  as  I  find  them.  I  love 
them  as  they  are.  There  is  great  freedom  and  elasticity 
along  with  order  in  the  organization  of  the  Church  as 
it  appears  in  the  New  Testament.  A  free  development 
belongs  to  the  nature  of  the  gospel.  Wherever  the  love 
of  Christ  is  kindled  within  the  heart,  it  will  burn  its  own 


138  TJic   CJinrch  in   the  Ho7isc. 

way  out.  It  will  keep  the  higher  law  of  the  Lord;  but 
it  bursts  through  all  human  official  regulations.  In  a 
quickened  time  the  lower  offices  instinctively  rise  to  the 
higher  work:  in  a  dead  time  the  reverse  process  may  be 
observed — the  higher  offices,  and  those  who  hold  them, 
gravitate  down  to  the  sphere  of  the  lower,  and  beyond 
it.  At  such  seasons  those  who  claim  the  apostolate 
practically  desert  prayer  and  the  ministry  of  the  Word, 
and  strive  for  mastery  in  the  various  ambitions  of  the 
world.  In  our  day  the  stream  has  often  manifested  a 
tendency  to  overflow  its  banks.  Those  who  hold  only 
private  station  in  the  Church  have,  through  strong  spir- 
itual instincts,  glided  ere  they  were  well  aware  into  the 
heart  of  the  ministerial  work — into  prayer  and  the 
ministry  of  the  Word.  Irregularities  may  be  expected 
to  appear  at  such  a  time.  Let  these  be  watched  and 
corrected  with  all  the  wisdom  and  faithfulness  available 
to  the  Church:  but  beware  of  mere  suppression.  I 
would  rather  undergo  much  toil  and  trouble  in  looking 
after  the  embankments  and  guiding  the  course  of  the 
stream,  than  be  relieved  of  labor  by  seeing  the  waters 
fall  like  a  tropical  torrent,  and  leave  the  land  a  desert. 

Stephen's  great  power  provoked  a  great  opposition. 
There  is  a  list  of  the  adversaries,  but  not  of  the  subjects 
in  debate.  We  know,  however,  what  the  contention 
was.  These  Jewish  teachers,  even  the  most  devout, 
held  to  the  dead  letter  of  the  law,  overlaid  as  it  was  by 
the  endless  superstitions  of  the  Talmud.  The  preach- 
ing of  Stephen  made  short  work  with  their  childish  ritu- 
alism. It  tore  up  their  phylacteries,  and  interrupted 
their  long  prayers.  It  grasped  the  Pharisee  fast  by  his 
conscience,  and  threw  his  stately  figure  prone  on  the 
ground  beside  the  repenting  publican,  announcing,  with 
authority  and  not  as  the  scribes,  except  ye  repent  ye 
shall  perish.  This  preacher  did  not  go  about  the  bush. 
He  told  them  that  all  their  sacrifices  and  all  their  wash- 
ings would  not  serve  as  a  substitute  for  faith  and  holi- 
ness. All  this,  they  thought,  was  a  bold  assault  on 
Moses  and  the  law. 

Saul's  name  has  not  been  pronounced  yet;  but  here 
we  begin  to  feel  the  firmness  of  his  hand.  Saul  was 
there,  acting  in  some  formally  subordinate  but  really 
dominate  capacity.     The  business  is  not  conducted  as 


Stephen 's    Testinioiiy.  1 39 

it  was  at  the  last  meetinc^  of  the  court,  when,  under  the 
temporizinf^  initiative  of  Gamaliel,  the  persecutors  al- 
lowed the  victims  to  slip  through  their  hands. 

Here  from  the  first  the  reins  seem  to  be  held  in  an 
inexorable  grasp.  The  witnesses  are  ready:  they  have 
conned  their  tasks;  their  precognitions  have  been  taken. 
The  prisoner  is  placed  on  his  defence  with  a  foregone 
conclusion  that  he  shall  not  escape. 

The  martyr  has  a  distinct  presentiment  that  this 
will  be  his  last  witness-bearing.  The  sheen  on  his  coun- 
tenance betokens  the  triumph  in  his  soul.  It  has  gen- 
erally been  considered  to  be  a  supernatural  glory.  I 
am  not  disposed  to  dispute  this  theory;  for  it  would  be 
in  accord  with  other  examples,  and  with  the  purpose 
of  God  to  give  unbelievers  yet  another  testimony.  But 
I  rather  like  to  think  of  it  as  a  natural  brightness — as 
the  direct  and  non-miraculous  effect  of  great  inward 
peace  coinciding  with  great  outward  trouble.  All  God's 
children  attain  in  measure  to  the  serenity  of  counten- 
ance which  corresponds  to  internal  faith  and  hope;  but 
in  some  cases  this  effect  is  produced  to  such  an  extent 
as  to  excite  the  admiration  of  observers.  I  think  it 
probable  that  it  was  Stephen's  victorious  faith,  and 
blessed  hope,  fanned  by  the  fierce  persecution  into 
greater  force,  that  glistened  that  day  on  his  face,  and 
almost  persuaded  some  of  his  persecutors.  At  eventide 
there  shall  be  light.  In  the  near  prospect  of  glory,  he 
was  so  elevated  above  the  world,  that  the  dawn  of  an 
eternal  day  reached  him  before  the  time,  and  a  halo  of 
that  light  crowned  the  victim  for  the  sacrifice. 


XXX. 

STEPHEN'S    TESTIMONY. 

•'  Then  said  the  high  priest.   Are  these  things  so  ?     And  he  said.  Men, 
brethren,  and  fathers,  hearken; ''  etc. — ACTS  VU. 

"Mark    the    perfect   man,   and   behold   the   upright.''' 
That  object  is  worthy  of  regard  anywhere;  but  here  it 


140  The   Church  in  the  House. 

is  placed  in  a  position  peculiarly  fitted  to  display  its 
grandeur.  Everything  about  the  faith  of  Christians  is 
interesting;  but  the  trial  of  their  faith  especially  is  found 
unto  praise,  and  honor,  and  glory,  at  the  appearing  of 
Jesus  Christ  (i  Pet.  i.  7).  The  flame  may  live  through- 
out the  day,  if  the  supply  of  oil  be  constant;  but  it  is  by 
night  that  the  flame  is  seen.  So,  though  a  disciple's 
faith  may  survive  through  a  period  of  prosperity,  as"  a 
secret  bond  between  him  and  his  Saviour,  it  is  not  ob- 
served by  other  men  until  the  night  of  adversity  settles 
down.  "  Mark  the  perfect  man,  and  behold  the  up- 
right;" but  choose  the  time  for  marking  him.  The 
beauty  of  his  course  is  generally  best  seen  towards  its 
close:  "  The  end  of  that  man  is  peace."  The  sufferings 
which  enemies  have  inflicted  become  the  darkness 
which  reveals  his  light. 

Stephen  stands  before  the  Sanhedrim,  not  to  be 
tried,  but  to  be  condemned.  When  he  distributed 
alms  to  the  poor  widows,  I  suppose  his  face  was 
pleasant  to  look  upon — as  that  of  a  loving,  benevo- 
lent man;  but  when  he  stands  before  his  murderers, 
in  the  immediate  prospect  of  martyrdom,  it  is  like  the 
face  of  an  angel.  The  sun  is  more  beautiful  at  his  setting 
than  at  his  meridian;  and  if  dark  clouds  cluster  on  the 
horizon  round  him,  they  serve  to  receive  and  reflect 
his  light,  and  so  to  increase  the  loveliness  of  the  de- 
parting moment. 

The  specific  charge  preferred  against  Stephen  is, 
that  he  spoke  blasphemous  words  against  the  Temple 
and  the  Law.  The  presiding  judge,  conducting  him- 
self in  the  first  instance  with  at  least  external  propriety, 
intimates  to  the  accused  that  he  is  put  on  his  trial,  and 
invites  him  to  plead:  "Then  said  the  high  priest,  Are 
these  things  so  .''  "  Not  wanting  in  courtesy,  the  ac- 
cused begins  with  a  general  salutation  of  respect. 

A  question  of  much  interest  has  been  raised  regard- 
ing the  sources  whence  Luke,  the  historian,  obtained 
a  report  of  this  address.  Besides  the  Church  in  Jeru- 
salem, where  a  record  of  all  the  circumstances  may  have 
been  kept,  the  narrator  had  a  competent  reporter  at 
hand  in  the  person  of  the  apostle  Paul.  Saul  of  Tarsus 
was  present  at  this  trial:  and  every  word  of  the  mar- 
tyr's defence  was  graven  on  his  capacious  memory,  as 


Stc'p/ioi's   Testimony.  141 

Avith  a  pen  of  iron  and  the  point  of  a  diamond.  After 
he  became  a  preacher  of  the  faith,  vvhicii  at  that  time 
he  persecuted,  he  would  still  recall  the  same  facts, 
though  invested  with  a  new  meaning'.  Doubtless  the 
beloved  physician  took  the  opportunity  of  the  enforced 
leisure  of  a  long  sea  voyage  to  learn  authentically  from 
Paul's  lips  all  the  particulars  of  this  extraordinary 
history. 

It  is  in  the  spirit  of  a  devout  believer  that  Stephen 
traces  the  course  of  Hebrew  history.  He  touches  ten- 
derly, and  with  devout  reverence,  all  the  great  events 
in  God's  dealing  with  Israel.  His  speech,  in  this  aspect, 
must  have  gone  far  to  refute  the  accusations  that  were 
brought  against  him.  This  is  not  a  reviler  of  the  Tem- 
ple and  the  Law.  This  is  not  a  renegade  Jew  who 
abjures  the  authority  of  Moses.  It  was  not  by  his  his- 
torical discourse  that  Stephen  offended  his  judges;  it 
was  rather  by  his  unsparing  application  of  the  Word 
to  their  consciences.  His  elegant  apologetic  essay 
would  have  pleased  his  judges,  as  the  story  of  the 
ewe  lamb  pleased  the  guilty  king;  it  was  his  conclud- 
ing onslaught,  "Thou  art  the  man,"  that  enraged  the 
persecutors,  and  sealed  the  doom  of  the  intrepid 
witness. 

Whether  he  had  reached  the  point  whence  he  could 
most  effectually  launch  his  premeditated  bolt,  or  whether 
he  was  interrupted  by  some  commotion  in  the  audience, 
we  cannot  with  certainty  determine;  but  at  the  51st 
verse  the  discourse  takes  a  sudden  turn.  From  an  ab- 
stract disquisition  on  the  Divine  plan,  as  shown  in  the 
Old  Testament  history,  he  changes  in  a  moment  to  a 
bold,  personal  denunciation  of  his  judges:  "  Ye  stiff- 
necked  and  uncircumcised  in  heart  and  ears,  ye  do 
always  resist  the  Holy  Ghost:  as  your  fathers  did,  so 
do  ye."  This  sudden  charge  must  have  produced  a 
great  excitement  in  the  court.  Hitherto,  there  is  good 
reason  to  believe  they  had  listened  with  rapt  attention. 
The  sketch  of  their  own  history,  given  by  the  accused, 
must  have  been  grateful  to  their  ears.  Perhaps  they 
may  have  begun  to  think,  "This  man  doeth  nothing 
worthy  of  death  or  of  bonds."  He  had  honored  Abra- 
ham and  Moses  and  David.  He  had  spoken  reverently 
of  God,  and  acknowledged  Israel  as  the  chosen  people. 


142  The   Church  in  the  House. 

As  far  as  he  had  yet  gone,  they  would  have  found  it 
hard  to  convict  him  of  blasphemy.  Stephen,  I  suppose, 
had  a  well-defined  plan  in  his  mind.  He  desired  to 
win  their  attention,  and  soften  their  hearts.  When  at 
last  he  saw  the  gates  open  and  the  watchmen  off  their 
guard,  he  made  a  sudden  rush,  in  the  hope  of  taking 
the  city  by  assault,  and  leading  its  defenders  captive — 
captive  to  Christ. 

The  preacher's  plan  was  in  the  first  instance  suc- 
cessful. The  word  in  Stephen's  lips  proved  quick  and 
powerful.  The  sword  ran  into  their  joints  and  marrow. 
The  immediate  object  is  gained:  there  is  conviction. 
The  judges  are  "cut  to  the  heart."  This  is  one  step 
of  progress,  but  it  is  not  the  end.  For  those  who  seek 
to  win  souls,  as  well  as  for  those  who  try  to  make  a  for- 
tune, there  is  many  a  slip  between  the  cup  and  the 
lip.  Conviction  goes  before  conversion;  but  conver- 
sion does  not  always  follow  conviction.  When  such 
a  home-thrust  takes  effect  on  the  conscience,  a  great 
anger  is  generated.  That  anger  burns  like  fire,  and  it 
must  have  some  object  to  consume.  It  will  either  burn 
inward  to  consume  your  own  sins,  or  outward  to  perse- 
cute the  preacher  who  exposed  them.  In  such  a  case 
there  must  be  a  victim.  You  will  wreak  your  ven- 
geance either  on  your  sins  or  on  your  reprovers.  Such 
a  word  as  Stephen  preached  to  his  judges  will  be  a 
savor  of  life  or  a  savor  of  death.  It  makes  the  hearer 
better  or  worse. 

In  this  case  the  anger  which  the  word  generated 
went  the  wrong  way;  instead  of  going  inward  to  cru- 
cify their  own  lusts,  it  went  outward  to  take  the  life  of 
the  faithful  reprover:  "  They  gnashed  on  him  with 
their  teeth." 

As  the  fury  of  the  persecutors  increased,  so  did  the 
ecstasy  of  the  martyr.  The  blast  of  their  wrath  against 
him,  like  the  wind  against  a  kite,  carried  him  higher 
toward  heaven:  "But  he,  being  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
looked  up  steadfastly  into  heaven,  and  saw  the  glory 
of  God,  and  Jesus."  These  two  sights  lie  close  together. 
Stephen,  I  suppose,  saw  them  blended  into  one,  and 
could  not  separate  them.  If  the  glory  of  God  should 
appear  without  Jesus,  the  Spirit  would  fail  before  him, 
and  the  souls  that  he  has  made.     In  the  Apocalyptic 


Stephen's   Testimony.  143 

vision  of  the  blessed  state,  it  is  said  that  "the  Lamb 
is  the  Hght  thereof." 

It  is  noticed  with  interest  by  all  the  commentators 
from  the  earliest  times,  that  Jesus  was  standi n_<^  ow  the 
right  hand  of  God  when  the  first  martyr  obtained  a 
supernatural  foresight  of  his  exalted  Redeemer.  He 
was  not  sitting',  as  in  peace  and  ease;  but  standing  up, 
as  one  who  felt  the  pain  that  his  member  on  the  earth 
endured.  This  attitude  of  the  Lord  in  heaven  already 
foreshadows  his  own  subsequent  word:  "Saul,  Saul, 
why  persecutest  thou  me  }"  The  preparation  for  ston- 
ing Stephen  stirred  the  heart  of  his  Lord.  He  stood 
up  in  anticipation  as  well  as  in  sympathy.  He  was 
preparing  to  receive  with  suitable  welcome  the  first 
witness  who  should,  after  himself,  ascend  in  a  fiery 
chariot. 

Stephen's  ecstatic  exclamation  was  the  signal  for  an 
uproar  in  the  court.  What  had  up  to  this  point  seemed, 
externally  at  least,  an  orderly  trial,  degenerated  ncnv 
into  a  fanatical  disturbance.  The  peace  and  triumph 
of  the  martyrs  has  always  fanned  the  persecutors  into 
a  fiercer  flame.  The  murderers  have  never  been  able  to 
bear  the  dying  testimony  of  the  victims.  In  an  age 
comparatively  recent,  they  beat  the  drums  to  drown  the 
last  words  of  the  Scottish  Covenanters.  "  Argyle's 
sleep,"  on  the  night  before  his  execution,  made  the 
blood  run  cold  in  his  enemies'  veins. 

While  the  rude  executioners  were  doing  their  work 
under  the  eye  of  a  zealous  young  Pharisee,  lately  ap- 
pointed the  chief  agent  of  the  inquisitors,  Stephen  him- 
self is  occupied  too.  He  is  praying.  Finding  himself 
in  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death,  he  addresses  Je- 
sus, present  to  faith,  as  David  long  ago  had  done:  "  I 
will  not  fear,  for  thou  art  with  me." 


144  ^/''^'   CJnircJi   iu   the  House. 

XXXI. 

STEPHEN'S  death: 

^^  And  he  kneeled  down^  and  cried  with  a  loud  voice.  Lord,  lay  not  this 
sin  to  their  charge.  And  wheti  he  had  said  this,  he  fell  asleep.'''' — 
Acts  vh.  6o. 

I  THINK  the  young  man  Saul  was  an  attentive  listener, 
both  to  the  martyr's  sermon  and  the  prayer  that  fol- 
lowed it.  I  think  that  he  obtained  the  germs  of  his 
systematic  theology  that  day.  Sometimes  in  our  Di- 
vinity halls  a  young  man  receives  instruction  in  the 
great  things  of  the  covenant  as  he  learns  languages 
and  mathematics,  without  having  for  the  time  any  spe- 
cific use  for  his  acquisition.  The  truth  is  stored  in  an  un- 
renewed heart,  and  lies  there  dormant  until  the  quick- 
ening Spirit  come.  The  seed  of  the  Word  has  been 
dropped  into  frozen  furrows;  and  when  the  melting 
comes  it  is  there  ready  to  spring.  Thus  the  word  from 
Stephen's  lips  dropped  into  Saul's  mem.ory.  I  like  to 
entertain  the  conception  that  in  Stephen's  speech  Paul 
found  the  idea  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews. 

Another  stage  of  the  martyrdom:  "  He  kneeled 
down."  The  stones  were  overcoming — overwhelming 
him.  He  is  fainting  from  loss  of  blood.  Stephen  will 
not  remain  on  his  feet  till  he  fall.  While  he  has  strength 
left  he  will  bow  down  to  pray;  and  he  prays  aloud  for  his 
enemies:  "Lord,  lay  not  this  sin  to  their  charge."  A  se- 
cret sigh  might  have  reached  the  throne  as  well;  but  the 
loud  voice  made  known,  both  to  friends  and  to  foes, 
the  latest  exercise  of  the  martyr's  spirit.  The  expres- 
sion of  that  prayer  may  be  the  means  of  winning  souls, 
and  therefore  it  is  articulately  expressed.  That  prayer 
may  have  remained  like  a  barb  in  the  conscience  of 
some  of  his  murderers,  which  would  not  let  them  go 
until  it  led  them  to  the  blood  of  the  covenant. 

"  When  he  had  said  this,  he  fell  asleep."  All  things 
are  yours,  when  you  are  Christ's,  and  death  among 
them.  This  dreaded  name  is  an  article  in  the  inven- 
tory of  a  Christian's  possessions.    When  death  becomes 


Stcp/u'iis  Death.  145 

the  property  of  a  disciple,  it  is  baptized  and  l^ets  a  new 
name.  It  has  many  different  Christian  names.  For 
Paul,  it  was  a  departing  to  be  with  Christ;  for  Stephen, 
it  was  to  fall  asleep.  When  the  earthly  house  of  this 
tabernacle  is  dissolved,  we  have  a  building  of  God,  an 
house  not  made  with  hands.  A  relative  of  my  own 
lately  gave  a  new  name  to  this  messenger,  which  I  had 
not  heard  before,  and  w^hich  I  rather  like.  Leaving 
her  own  home,  to  pay  a  visit  of  some  weeks  in  the 
neighboring  city,  she  said  to  a  friend,  with  reference 
to  the  possibility  of  not  returning,  "  I  am  like  a  pas- 
senger, with  my  ticket  in  my  hand,  waiting  at  the  sta- 
tion till  the  train  come  up."  According  to  her  secret 
anticipation  the  train  did  come  up,  ere  the  visit  was 
over,  and  she  was  carried  gently  away. 

Sleep  is  a  very  impressive  and  appropriate  Christian 
name  for  death.  If  we  were  not  made  indifferent  by 
familiarity  with  it,  natural  sleep  would  seem  a  very 
solemn  and  m.ysterious  experience.  We  might  well 
be  familiar  with  death,  for  we  have  a  symbol  and  re- 
hearsal of  it  every  night.  We  might  be  familiar  with 
the  resurrection,  for  we  have  a  symbol  and  rehearsal  of 
it  every  morning.  If  faith  were  lively,  we  might  lie 
down  every  night  as  an  infant  lies  down  to  sleep  in  a 
mother's  arms:  we  might  be  comforted  in  the  morning 
when  we  awaked  by  remembering  that  this  same  Jesus 
stands  yet  at  the  right  hand  of  the  throne,  girt  for 
mighty  work,  as  our  protector,  and  alert  to  receive 
all  his  own,  when  life  is  over,  into  the  joy  of  the 
Lord. 

It  is  remarkable,  that  of  all  the  Christian  names  of 
death,  this  one  should  be  employed  here.  It  might 
seem  an  appropriate  epithet,  when  an  aged  Christian, 
on  his  chair  or  his  bed,  after  a  gradual  decay  of  strength, 
with  a  gentle  smile  on  a  wan  countenance,  speaks  this 
moment  of  his  hope  in  Christ,  and  the  next  moment 
glides  away.  When  death  in  such  circumstances  is 
called  a  sleep,  the  analogy  is  easily  apprehended,  and 
at  once  accepted  as  true.  But  a  cruel  death  by  ston- 
ing, amid  the  yells  and  curses  of  infuriated  execution- 
ers, stripped  like  gladiators  for  their  bloody  work — 
death  in  such  a  tumult  called  a  sleep  !  Yes;  and  there 
is  a  design  in  the  choice  of  the  name.     God  sits  King 


146  The   Church   in  the  House. 

on  these  floods.  Jesus  stands  up  and  speaks  again  to 
the  sea;  and  at  his  word  there  is  a  great  calm.  At 
sight  of  him  "standing"  over  the  waves,  the  weary 
voyager  is  instantly  at  the  land  where  he  desired  to 
be.  Sweeter  to  the  martyr  would  be  the  glory  of  Em- 
manuel's land  when  he  touched  its  shore,  because  of 
the  storm  through  which  he  had  passed. 

The  executioners,  engaged  and  paid,  and  held  in 
readiness,  to  do  the  work  quickly,  lest  the  sentence, 
lacking  the  due  authority,  might  be  recalled,  "laid  down 
their  clothes  at  a  young  man's  feet,  whose  name  was 
Saul."  Such  is  the  first  introduction  of  this  man  to  the 
readers  of  the  Bible.  The  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles 
steps  upon  the  stage,  the  acknowledged  head  of  a  ruf- 
fian band,  in  the  very  act  of  shedding  the  first  martyr's 
blood.  What  hath  God  wrought  !  How  unsearchable 
are  his  judgments,  and  his  ways  past  finding  out  ! 

"When  he  had  said  this,  he  fell  asleep;  but  Saul 
was  consenting  unto  his  death."  We  should  not  over- 
look the  connection  and  the  contrast,  which  the  divis- 
ion of  the  chapters  here  rather  tends  to  obscure.  These 
two  men  met  for  one  day,  and  then  went  on  their  sev- 
eral paths; — the  one,  right  on  to  the  joy  of  the  Lord; 
the  other,  to  the  work  of  wasting  the  Church.  The 
intimation  at  the  beginning  of  chapter  viii.  means  that 
Saul  approved  of  the  policy  adopted  in  taking  Stephen 
off  It  would  be  an  error  to  impute  to  him  any  inhuman 
cruelty.  Saul  was  never  a  man  of  low  tastes  and  brutal 
passions.  From  early  years  he  was  a  man  of  most  acute 
intellect,  earnest  opinions,  and  lofty  aims.  At  this  time 
his  belief  was  that  Stephen's  doctrines  were  subversive 
of  the  true  religion;  and  that  the  best  way  of  checking 
a  heresy  was  to  put  the  heretics  to  death.  These  prin- 
ciples did  not  die  out  with  the  conversion  of  Saul.  They 
survived,  and  deluged  Europe  with  blood  down  to  a 
very  recent  period.  It  is  only  now,  in  our  own  gener- 
ation, that  religious  toleration  has  been  established. 
The  position  of  Saul  at  the  death  of  Stephen  was  due, 
not  to  natural  cruelty,  but  to  a  perverted  judgment. 
He  thought  he  did  God  service  by  slaying  the  disciples 
of  Christ.  His  own  description  is  clear  and  true:  "I 
verily  thought  I  ought  to  do  many  things  contrary  to 
the  name  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth;  which  thing  I  also  did." 


Sifphcn's  Death.  I47 

He  held  the  opinion  that  it  was  just  and  right  to  take 
Stephen  off,  as  a  subverter  of  the  law. 

I  have  often  tried  to  conceive  the  scene  at  the  next 
meeting  of  these  two  men,  when  Saul  also  became  a 
martyr,  and  joined  the  general  assembly  and  church  of 
the  first-born.  When  they  met  in  the  presence  of  the 
Lord,  there  would  be  no  upbraiding  on  the  one  side, 
and  no  shame  on  the  other.  Saul's  guilt  was  indeed 
very  great.  The  young  Pharisee  who  conducted  the 
case  against  Stephen  with  skill  and  vigor,  and  plunged 
into  another  as  soon  as  the  dark  deed  was  done — that 
young  Pharisee  was  a  chief  sinner;  but  the  blood  of  Je- 
sus Christ,  God's  Son,  cleansed  him  from  all  sin.  Ste- 
phen would  be  so  much  occupied  remembering  his  own 
guilt,  and  praising  the  grace  that  had  blotted  it  out, 
that  he  would  have  no  time  and  no  inclination  to  cast 
up  the  sins  of  other  men.  We  have  not  the  means  of 
determining  whether  Stephen  or  Saul  owed  most  to  the 
Lord.  By  looking  on  the  surface  of  the  sea  we  cannot 
tell  what  place  is  deepest;  but  we  know  that  all  places, 
alike  the  deepest  and  the  shallowest,  are  filled,  and  all 
present  one  level  surface  to  the  sky.  In  like  manner, 
as  far  as  we  can  perceive,  all  the  forgiven  are  alike.  It 
is  only  He  who  bore  their  sins  who  can  distinguish  the 
aggravations  of  every  case.  Certain  it  is  that  the  first 
martyr  and  the  man  who  kept  the  clothes  of  the  exe- 
cutioners at  his  death  are  now  at  peace.  They  are  one 
in  Christ. 


148  TJie   CJinrch  in  the  House. 


XXXII. 

Tim  PERSECUTION  OF  THE  CHRISTIANS  THE  INCREASE 
OF  THE  CHURCH. 

"  And  Saul  was  consentin!:;  unto  his  death.  And  at  that  time  there  was 
a  great  persecution  against  the  church  7a hie h  was  at  yerusalem;  and  they 
were  all  scattered  abroad  throughout  the  regions  of  jfudita  and  Samaria, 
except  the  apostles.  And  devout  men  carried  Stephen  to  his  burial,  and 
made  great  lamentation  over  him.  As  for  Saul,  he  made  havoc  of  the 
church,  entering  into  every  house,  and  haling  men  and  women  committed 
them  to  prison.  Therefore  they  that  zvere  scattered  abroad  went  every- 
where preaching  the  word.''^ — Acts  viii.  1-4. 

On  that  day  a  great  persecution  sprang  up.  The  trans- 
lators have  taken  the  definite  term  in  a  general  sense 
— "at  that  time — "  which  it  may  sometimes  bear;  but 
there  seems  no  necessity  here  for  avoiding  the  more 
specific  meaning.  It  is  natural  that  when  the  flood  of 
rage  had  been  permitted  once  to  break  out,  it  should 
flow  on  and  cover  all  the  neighborhood.  It  broke  out  like 
a  flame,  and  instantly  seized  and  licked  up  all  that  could 
be  converted  into  fuel.  The  leaders  of  such  a  move- 
ment found  it  their  interest  that  the  passions  of  the 
multitude,  once  excited,  should  have  no  time  to  cool. 
The  tiger  has  tasted  blood,  and  now  the  creature  thirsts 
fiercely  for  another  victim.  On  that  day  a  great  perse- 
cution broke  out. 

The  favor  of  the  people  had  gained  for  the  Christians 
a  brief  breathing-time,  and  they  had  occupied  it  well. 
In  the  interval  several  thousands  had  become  obedient 
to  the  faith.  Of  these  a  large  proportion  were  priests, 
who  might  be  expected  to  be  of  special  service  after- 
wards to  the  cause.  When  they  had  learned  that  the 
Scriptures  testify  of  Christ,  they  would  be  better  fitted 
by  their  previous  training  than  disciples  of  another 
class  for  the  work  of  convincing  gainsayers  and  edify- 
ing the  Church. 

But  the  popular  favor  soon  failed  the  Christians. 
That  protection  seems  to  have  sprung  up  as  quickly 
as  Jonah's  gourd,  and  withered  as  soon.  Already  the 
defenceless  heads  of  the  witnesses  were  exposed  to  the 


TJie  Persecution  of  tJic   CJiristians.  149 

full  fury  of  the  persecution.  They  were  scattered  abroad, 
-  -the  assemblies  broken  up,  and  the  individual  disciples 
compelled  to  flee.  They  betook  themselves  to  the 
country  around  Jerusalem,  and  some  penetrated  north- 
ward into  Samaria.  Thus,  although  their  steps  were 
directed  by  events  beyond  their  control,  they  were 
exactly  fulfilling  the  Master's  commission,  —  first  in 
Jerusalem,  next  in  Judaea,  then  in  Samaria,  and  thence 
to  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth.  The  six  surviving 
deacons,  and  other  prominent  members  of  the  Church, 
sought  refuge  in  flight;  but  the  apostles  remained  still 
in  Jerusalem. 

As  for  Saul,  he  pursued  his  vocation.  "He  made 
havoc  of  the  Church;"  but  he  was  employed  as  an 
instrument  in  promoting  the  Divine  plan.  The  havoc 
made  by  Saul  scattered  the  Christians;  the  scattered 
Christians  were  like  sparks,  kindling  a  great  flame 
wherever  they  fell:  "They  that  were  scattered  abroad 
went  everywhere  preaching  the  word." 

At  this  point  the  historian,  according  to  his  custom, 
abandons  the  method  of  general  description,  and  ex- 
hibits, by  way  of  example,  the  details  of  a  particular 
case.  The  portion  of  Christian  history  selected  in  this 
section  is  the  ministry  of  Philip  the  deacon.  Two  spec- 
imens of  his  preaching  are  given  in  this  chapter;  and  I 
think  these  two  have  been  chosen  as  a  sign  for  all 
places  and  all  times.  The  gospel  first  reaches  Samaria, 
and  then  the  ends  of  the  earth.  The  first  example  of 
Philip's  ministry  is  among  the  nearest  neighbors  of  the 
Jews;  and  the  next  is  addressed  to  an  Ethiopian,  repre- 
sentative of  the  distant  Gentiles.  The  first  is  a  ministry 
in  a  city  to  a  multitude;  the  next  is  a  ministry  in  a 
desert  to  a  single  man.  These  two  are  types  of  all. 
And  in  both,  the  preacher's  theme  was  one: — when  he 
went  to  a  city  of  Samaria,  "he  preached  Christ  unto 
them:"  when  he  met  the  Ethiopian  in  the  desert,  he 
"preached  unto  him  Jesus." 

In  the  gallery  of  missionary  portraits  which  this 
book  displays,  although  some  are  larger,  none  are  more 
distinctly  traced  than  that  of  the  evangelist  Philip. 
The  sketches  given  of  his  life  and  labors  are  very  short, 
but  very  clear.  He  comes  suddenly  upon  the  stage, 
marches  quickly  across  it,  and  disappears  on  the  other 


150  The   CJiiircJi  in  the  House. 

side  when  his  part  is  played.  Very  little  time  is 
allowed  to  examine  him,  and  yet  we  do  not  forget  him 
when  he  is  gone.  All  his  movements  are  remarkable 
for  directness  and  precision;  there  is  no  ambiguous  haze 
hanging  over  the  horizon  of  his  life.  This  is  not  the 
man  who  at  first  possesses  ten  talents;  but  this  is  the 
man  who  lays  out  his  live  with  such  a  will,  that  they 
soon  become  ten  in  his  hands.  His  movements  remind 
you  of  Ezekiel's  wheels.  Like  them,  he  goes  straight 
forward,  without  turning  to  the  right  hand  or  to  the 
left — whether  in  going  forward  or  in  coming  back — 
whether  on  his  way  from  the  city  to  the  wilderness,  or 
on  his  way  from  the  wilderness  to  the  city.  Like  them, 
too,  he  moves  with  the  Spirit,  and  by  the  Spirit:  he 
goes  not  unbidden,  and  goes  not  alone.  Where  the 
Spirit  leads,  he  follows. 

Philip  was  driven  into  Samaria  by  the  violence  of  the 
persecution  at  Jerusalem.  This  is  the  way  by  which  the 
gospel  was  propagated  in  those  days.  The  blood  of  the 
martyrs  was  the  seed  of  the  Church.  In  this  matter 
the  plan  of  Providence  has  been  to  a  great  extent 
changed  in  our  time.  It  is  not  by  the  persecution  of 
Christians  in  one  place  that  Christianity  is  carried  into 
another  now.  In  the  cognate  kingdom  of  nature  vege- 
tation is  spread,  not  always  and  everywhere  by  one  and 
the  same  agency.  A  part  of  the  work  is  done  by  the 
wind  bearing  the  winged  seeds  over  mountains  and 
moors,  a  part  by  birds  carrying  heavier  fruits  for  objects 
of  their  own,  and  a  part  by  the  progressive  outspread 
of  the  roots  under  the  ground.  There  is  a  similar  di- 
versity in  the  methods  employed  by  the  Omniscient 
Plusbandman  to  scatter  the  seed  of  the  Word  over  the 
world.  Missionaries  are  now  for  the  most  part  sent  out, 
not  driven  out.  This  method,  though  more  gentle,  is 
not  less  effectual.  It  is  the  spontaneousness  of  the 
scattering  that  constitutes  its  glory.  "Thy  people 
shall  be  willing  in  the  day  of  thy  power."  On  the  part 
of  the  Church,  it  is  eminently  a  reasonable  service;  and 
yet  men  are  drawn  into  it  by  the  loving-kindness  of  the 
Lord. 

Two  methods  are  in  operation  amongcivilized  nations 
for  filling  up  their  armies:  one  is  a  forced  conscription 
from  the  inhabitants,  the  other  a  voluntary  enlistment 


The  Pt:rsi\iitio>i   of  tJic   Christians.  151 

Eoth  methods  have  in  practice  made  good  soldiers;  but 
in  its  nature  the  voluntary  service  is  the  nobler  of  the 
two,  and  in  its  operation  the  sweeter.  In  this  manner 
the  missionary  army  of  the  present  day  is  recruited. 
It  is  not  that  the  disciples  of  Christ  preach  to  the 
heathen  because  they  are  driven  from  home;  it  is  that 
they  go  from  home  that  they  may  preach  to  the 
heathen. 

Nor  is  there  any  room  for  self-complacency  on  our 
part,  when  the  two  periods  and  the  two  processes  are 
compared.  It  is  not  that  we  adopt  the  gentler  method 
because  our  love  is  stronger:  I  rather  think  the  Lord 
spares  us  the  sterner  method  because  our  faith  is  weaker. 
If  we  were  persecuted  as  the  early  Christians  were,  I 
fear,  instead  of  imparting  our  religion  to  our  neighbors, 
we  should  let  go  our  own.  Let  us  appreciate  our  priv- 
ileges and  thank  the  Giver.  Let  us  not  be  high-minded, 
but  fear. 

Further:  seeing  we  enjoy  abundant  peace,  we  ought 
to  be  abundant  in  our  mission  labor.  The  early  Chris- 
tians did  much  mission  work  because  they  were  perse- 
cuted; we  ought  to  do  more  because  we  are  not.  Peace 
has  multiplied  our  resources;  if  our  efforts  were  pro- 
portioned to  our  resources,  we  might  occupy  a  conti- 
nent as  easily  as  the  hundred  and  twenty  from  the  upper 
room  occupied  Samaria  and  Galilee.  Our  lives  and  our 
strength  are  not  consumed  by  the  fires  of  persecution; 
we  should  therefore  devote  more  energy  and  effort  to 
the  service  of  the  Lord. 


152  TJie  Church  in  tlie  House. 

XXXIII. 

PHILIP  PREACHING  IN  A    SAMARITAN  CITY. 

"  Then  Philip  went  dcnvn  to  the  city  of  Samaria,  and  preached  Chriit  unto 
the/ii.'" — Acts  viu.  5. 

Philip  (i.)  went  down  to  a  city  of  Samaria;  and  (2.) 
preached  Christ  unto  them. 

I.    Went  doivn  to  a  city  of  Samaria. 

I.  Went  down;  that  is,  from  Jerusalem.  The  place 
physically  was  high;  and  so  the  form  of  expression  for 
going  away  from  Jerusalem  naturally  came  to  be,  "  Go- 
ing down."  Jerusalem  was  the  centre.  There  were 
both  the  thrones  and  the  altars  of  the  house  of  David. 
Thither  the  tribes  went  up  to  worship;  thence  the  law 
flowed  out,  and  thence  the  gospel. 

If  there  is  one  grand  supereminent  and  central  moun- 
tain in  a  country,  to  it  the  clouds  of  heaven  come,  around 
it  they  congregate.  From  that  mountain,  in  turn,  the 
water  flows  in  every  direction  to  refresh  the  land.  Such, 
spiritually,  was  Jerusalem  to  the  world. 

The  clouds  gathered  grand  and  multitudinous  around 
it  on  the  Pentecost  that  immediately  followed  the  death 
and  resurrection  of  the  Lord.  Under  the  influence  of 
the  rushing  mighty  wind  they  were  precipitated  on  its 
summit,  and  flowed  in  vast  volumes  back  to  all  the 
surrounding  nations,  bearing  the  gospel  of  grace  to 
people  of  every  tribe  and  tongue.  Out  of  the  temple 
that  day  flowed  waters  that  at  first  rose  to  the  ankles, 
and  then  to  the  knees,  and  then  to  the  loins,  and  after- 
wards became  waters  to  swim  in — a  great  flowing  river 
coursing  through  a  desert  world ;  and  wherever  it  flowed 
changing  the  desert  into  a  fruitful  field. 

Christ's  name  and  work  is  that  central  mountain 
now.  The  Spirit  without  measure  is  poured  out  on 
him.  The  Jerusalem  that  now  is,  is  the  Church  of 
Christ  in  the  world.  Around  it  all  heavenly  influences 
congregate;  on  it  they  drop  down;  and  from  it  then 


Philip  Preaching  in  a   Saniciritan   City.        153 

flow  forth.  Hence  missions  to  lieathen  and  Jews.  If 
)Ou  ask,  Why  do  Christians  eng"age  in  mission  work  ? 
the  answer  is.  They  cannot  help  it.  Why  do  the  rivers 
ilow  down  the  mountain  sides  upon  the  parched  plains 
when  once  the  clouds  have  discharged  their  burdens 
on  the  mountain's  summit  .''  They  must  flow  down, 
b}-  the  law  of  their  being.  So  Christians  must  flow: 
love  in  the  hearts  of  the  redeemed  swells,  and  would 
rend  them,  unless  they  opened  to  give  it  vent.  From 
Jerusalem,  throughout  all  Judaea  and  Samaria,  and  unto 
the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth, — behold  the  law  of 
the  kingdom,  the  kingdom  established  in  Christian 
hearts. 

2.  To  a  city. — In  congregated  masses  of  humanity, 
the  evil  is  great  when  they  are  evil,  the  good  great 
when  .they  are  good.  The  efforts  of  the  first  Christians 
were  directed  not  exclusively,  but  chiefly,  to  the  great 
cities.  The  spiritual  warfare  in  this  respect  follows  the 
analogy  of  the  temporal:  when  the  strongholds  are  won, 
the  surrounding  territory  is  more  easily  occupied. 

Cities  seem  destined  to  play  a  greater  part  in  mod- 
ern than  they  played  in  ancient  times.  As  yet  no 
symptom  appears  of  any  natural  law  that  shall  check 
their  increase.  The  corruption  of  such  vast  heaps  of 
corruptible  matter  is  enough  to  make  the  stoutest  heart 
falter.  In  presence  of  modern  cities  and  their  phases 
of  corruption  we  may  well  lose  heart.  "  This  is  the 
victory  that  overcometh  the  world,  even  your  faith." 
Lord,  increase  our  faith;  for  the  sight  or  the  thought 
of  London  makes  our  hearts  flow  down  like  water. 

3.  A  city  of  Samaria. — It  was  near;  it  was  needy. 
Long  before,  the  native  Jewish  inhabitants  had  been 
carried  away,  and  a  colony  of  heathens  planted  in  their 
stead.  These  added  the  worship  of  Jehovah  to  their 
variegated  creed.  They  were  a  mixed  people,  with  a 
patchwork  religion.  In  later  times  they  had  in  a  great 
measure  conformed  externally  to  Jewish  modes  of  wor- 
ship, but  conducted  it  on  their  own  soil.  They  made 
a  merit  of  having  a  common  worship  with  the  Jews, 
and  eagerly  claimed  a  common  descent. 

Samaria  is  near  us  to-day;  if  we  are  willing  to  go 
down  to  it,  we  need  not  lack  a  mission  field.  We  have 
not  far  to  look  down  to  Samaria;  and  she  has  not  fai 


154  I^Ji^   Cluirch  in  the  House. 

to  look  up  to  us.  If  she  see  us  like  herself, — if  she  see 
us  as  covetous,  as  vain,  as  godless, — she  will  get  com- 
fort from  us;  and  such  peacemakers  are  not  blessed. 
(See  Ezek.  xvi.  54.)  If  we  give  the  profane  and  care- 
less multitudes  any  ground  for  counting  that  we  are 
no  better  than  themselves,  we  heal  their  wounds  slightly, 
and  say  Peace,  peace,  when  there  is  no  peace.  But  if 
we  go  down  to  them  with  reproof  on  our  lips — with  re- 
proof silent  but  mighty  in  our  lives, — we  shall,  indeed, 
make  them  sorry  at  first,  but  out  of  that  godly  sorrow 
the  joy  of  the  Lord  will  in  due  time  spring. 

II.  He  preached  Christ  unto  tJicui. — When  Philip 
had  reached  his  proper  mission  field,  he  forthwith  be- 
gan his  proper  mission  work. 

1.  He  preached. — Take  it  literally;  for  in  that  aspect 
it  conveys  a  true,  an  appropriate  lesson.  The  first  and 
chief  work  of  a  missionary  is  to  preach.  The  mission- 
ary is  a  herald,  sent  from  the  great  King  to  a  rebel 
country,  bearing  his  terms  of  reconciliation.  The  first 
business  of  the  herald  is  to  proclaim  his  message.  In- 
deed, the  word  which  we  translate  preach,  has  been 
borrowed  from  that  ancient  office  of  a  herald.  Teach- 
ing and  printing  become  in  certain  circumstances  im- 
portant auxiliaries;  but  they  defeat  their  own  end,  if 
they  occupy  the  foreground,  or  usurp  the  centre. 

Nor  must  we  shut  our  eyes  to  the  reproof  which  the 
term  conveys  to  ourselves.  Arguments  and  disquis- 
itions, however  just  in  themselves,  and  however  im- 
portant in  respect  of  their  themes,  cannot  serve  as 
substitutes  for  preaching.  To  preach  is  to  proclaim — • 
to  proclaim,  as  a  herald  from  the  great  King,  the  terms 
on  which  the  rebels  will  be  received  into  favor.  This 
is  the  real  bone  and  marrow  of  preaching. 

2.  Preached  Christ. — To  this  the  teaching  of  the  Bi- 
ble constantly  comes  round.  The  true  minister  preaches, 
not  law,  not  morality,  not  doctrine — preaches  not  phi- 
losophy, not  religion,  but  Christ — not  the  Scriptures, 
not  the  true  doctrine,  but  Christ.  Proclaims,  offers, 
presses  Christ  upon  men. 

3.  Preached  Clirist  UNTO  THEM. — He  brings  the 
matter  home  to  themselves, — brings  it  home  to  each 
heart.     To  preach  that  Christ  came  into  the  world  to 


Philip  Preachi)ig  in   a   Saniaritaii    City.        155 

save  sinners,  is  rii^ht,  but  it  is  not  enough.  I  think  I 
see  many  near  the  kingdom,  and  yet  falling  short  of  it 
on  this  side:  We  are  all  sinners,  and  we  all  need  Christ 
as  our  Saviour.  I  think  I  see  souls  slipping  through 
the  opening  there  and  sinking.  I  fear,  through  that 
opening  many  may  be  lost.  Why  so  pertinacious  in 
taking  a  whole  armful  of  other  people  into  your  con- 
fession 1  I  fear  it  is  sometimes  the  same  instinct  that 
said,  "  What  have  we  to  do  with  thee,  thou  Jesus  .''  art 
thou  come  to  torment  us  .^  "  What  if  a  soul  grasp  a 
great  multitude  of  others  along  with  itself,  when  it 
comes  near  Christ,  precisely  in  order  that  it  may  es- 
cape personal  contact  with  him  !  Let  others  go  for  a 
time;  change  your  method;  instead  of  speaking  about 
Christ  as  a  Saviour  of  all,  speak  to  him,  that  he  may 
save  you.  Lord,  I  am  lost,  but  I  cling  to  thee.  Christ 
to  you;  you  to  Christ. 

Let  the  sunbeams  passing  through  ordinary  glass 
be  spread  over  your  naked  hand;  you  may  hold  it  under 
these  bright  rays  for  an  hour,  and  experience  no  in- 
convenience. If  you  should  shut  your  eyes,  or  look 
another  way,  you  would  scarcely  know  that  the  sun- 
beams were  streaming  on  your  hand  at  all.  But  now 
let  the  rays  pass  through  a  conve.x  glass,  and  so  be 
concentrated  in  one  point  upon  your  flesh.  That  one 
point  will  shine  with  great  brightness;  and  what  is 
more,  that  one  bright  point  will  burn.  It  will  go  to 
the  quick,  and  compel  you  to  withdraw. 

Precisely  the  same  diversities  occur  in  preaching 
and  hearing  the  gospel.  It  may  be  the  same  truth  in 
two  cases,  as  it  was  the  same  sunlight;  and  yet  in  the 
one  it  may  be  so  spread  out,  in  giving  it  or  receiving 
it,  that  it  exerts  no  power — that  it  falls  on  indulged 
sins,  and  shines  on  them,  without  ever  making  the  sin- 
ner wince.  The  glorious  gospel,  the  very  truth  of  God, 
may  be  so  diffused  in  the  preaching  or  the  hearing,  or 
both,  that  it  shall  fall  like  sunbeams  on  a  field  and 
burn  no  blade.  The  same  gospel  when  given  on  a 
point,  or  received  into  the  conscience  on  a  point,  may 
run  into  the  marrow  like  a  sword,  and  compel  the 
pierced  soul  to  cry  out,  "What  must  I  do  to  be 
saved  ?  " 


156  The   Church   i)i  the  Hotise. 

XXXIV. 

FRUIT— JOY. 

^^  And  the  people  7vith  one  accord  gave  heed  unto  those  things  which 
Philip  spake,  hearing  and  seeing  the  miracles  which  he  did.  For  unclean 
spirits,  crying  with  loud  voice,  came  out  of  many  that  were  possessed  with 
them:  and  many  taken  with  palsies,  and  that  were  lame,  were  healed. 
And  there  was  great  joy  in  that  city.''^ — ACTS  VIII.  6-8. 

I.  They  listened  to  the  messenger.  There  was  great 
earnestness  and  great  unanimity.  They  did  not  rise 
up  against  the  messenger  to  drive  him  away;  neither 
did  they  remain  unmoved,  leaving  him  to  spend  his 
strength  in  vain.  They  came  to  him  zealously,  and 
they  came  all. 

It  is  a  great  advantage  to  every  one  when  an  awak- 
ening becomes  general.  Solitary  Christians,  with  no 
congenial  company  within  their  reach,  are  like  solitary 
trees  near  the  sea-coast:  the  cold  winds  keep  dovv'n 
their  growth  or  kill  them.  But  in  a  thick  wood  all 
contribute  to  shelter  each.  The  spiritual  life  may  be 
best  maintained  where  there  is  much  spiritual  life  all 
around. 

So  quickly  and  so  generally  did  a  harvest  spring  up 
to  Philip's  hand  in  this  city,  as  soon  as  he  appeared  or 
the  spot,  that  we  are  compelled  to  believe  that  a  sower 
had  previously  cast  precious  seed  into  the  field.  The 
Master  himself  had  with  his  own  hand  sown  the  field 
on  which  his  servant  was  now  gathering  a  plentiful 
harvest.  We  remember  how,  at  the  call  of  the  Samar- 
itan woman,  great  numbers  from  the  town  of  Sychar 
came  out  and  heard  the  word  from  the  Lord  himself. 
This  word  was  not  in  vain.  One  soweth,  and  another 
reapeth. 

2.  The  people  both  heard  his  doctrines  and  saw  his 
mighty  works.  Unclean  spirits  were  cast  out,  and  the 
diseased  were  healed. 

Miracles,  in  the  ordinary  sense  of  that  term,  ceased 
with  the  first  or  second  generation  of  Christians.  Wc 
have  now  the  same  doctrines  preached,  and  the   same 


Fruit— Joy.  157 

results  in  spiritual  conversion,  but  not  the  supernatural 
cures.  The  miracles  constituted  the  credentials  of  the 
first  preachers.  But  perhaps  to  some  minds  the  cessa- 
tion of  miracles  may  present  as  great  a  diffi:ulty  as  the 
miracles  themselves.  If  the  missionaries  of  Christian- 
ity performed  miracles  once,  why  do  they  not  perform 
miracles  still .'' 

If  this  question  is  not  articulately  answered,  the 
questioner  at  least  is  silenced  by  one  of  the  clearest  and 
surest  of  all  analogies.  It  is  certain  and  easily  demon- 
strable that  some  great  energy  was  put  forth  by  the  Cre- 
ator at  the  beginning  of  the  present  orderof  nature  which 
is  not  continued  now.  To  set  the  world  agoing  at  first, 
powers  were  necessary  that  are  not  necessary  and  are  not 
put  forth  to  keep  it  going  after  its  course  has  begun;  the 
forces  of  nature  now  acting  are  sufficient  to  account 
for  the  motion  of  the  heavenly  bodies,  but  not  to  ac- 
count for  how  they  began  to  move.  The  present  or- 
ganic laws  are  sufficient  to  account  for  the  continuance 
of  the  species,  but  not  to  account  for  its  commence- 
ment. According  to  the  ordinary  laws  or  sequences 
of  nature  every  creature  produces  its  kind;  but  we 
know  of  no  law  that  could  produce  a  creature  where 
there  was  no  such  creature  previously  in  existence. 

Thus  a  power  must  have  been  put  forth  to  begin  the 
present  cosmos,  which  has  ceased,  and  never  operates 
now.  Why  then  should  it  be  thought  a  thing  impos- 
sible that  God  should  exert  a  power  to  establish  the 
gospel  at  first,  which  is  not  needed  and  is  not  exerted 
to  keep  it  going  }  This  is  what  the  Scriptures  declare. 
The  declaration  is  in  most  perfect  accord  with  what 
we  know  of  God's  method  in  the  material  department 
of  his  kingdom.  The  constant  process  of  generation 
is  as  wise  and  wonderful  as  the  miracle  of  creation. 
So,  although  the  miracles  that  introduced  Christianity 
are  not  now  presented  to  us,  it  does  not  follow  that 
they  were  greater  works  than  those  that  occur  now  in 
conversion  by  the  ministry  of  the  Spirit.  The  greater 
and  the  better  work  is  that  which  continues  to  this  day. 
The  unclean  spirits  are  cast  out,  the  aliens  are  recon- 
ciled, the  guilty  forgiven,  and  the  corrupt  renewed. 
"  Greater  works  than  these,"  said  the  Lord  to  his  fol- 
lowers— "greater  works   than    these  shall  ye  do,  be- 


158  The    Chtircli   in   tJie  House. 

cau.ic  I  go  to  my  Father."  The  converting  and  sancti- 
fying work  that  his  disciples,  by  the  ministry  of  the  Spirit, 
were  honored  to  do  after  his  ascension,  were,  in  his 
esteem,  greater  works  than  those  miracles — such  as 
the  feeding  of  five  thousand,  and  stilling  the  storm — 
which  he  had  exhibited  in  the  exercise  of  his  Divine 
power  over  the  elements  of  nature. 

3.  There  was  great  joy  in  that  city. — Hear  this,  ye 
butterfly  flutterers,  that  flit  from  flower  to  flower,  sati- 
ate with  each  sweet  as  soon  as  you  alight  on  it,  and 
hastening  unhappy  to  another,  trying  every  flower  all 
day,  and  at  night  bringing  no  honey  home; — hear  this, 
all  ye  who  study  hard  to  keep  religion  at  arm's-length, 
lest  it  should  cast  a  gloom  over  your  heart  or  your  home; 
— hear  this:  When  an  earnest  missionary — a  man  who 
risked  his  life  for  Christ's  name — preached  in  a  city, 
and  when  the  people  came  out  in  crowds  and  hung 
upon  the  lips  of  the  strange  revivalist,  the  citizens,  in- 
stead of  growing  gloomy,  became  very  glad.  This  is 
a  phenomenon  worthy  of  your  study. 

But  beware  lest  you  mistake  its  meaning.  The  in- 
stinct which  prompts  the  vain  and  worldly  to  shut  the 
door  and  keep  earnest  religion  outside,  lest  it  should 
mar  their  happiness,  is  a  true  instinct.  Every  creature 
after  its  kind.  Every  creature's  instinct  is  true  for  its 
own  preservation.  The  apprehension  that  Christ's  en- 
trance into  the  vain  or  vicious  heart  would  be  the  death 
of  its  joy  is  a  just  apprehension.  The  devils  believe 
this,  and  tremble  at  its  truth.  "  What  have  we  to  do 
with  thee,  thou  Jesus  }  "  To  open  your  whole  heart 
for  a  whole  Christ, — to  take  into  your  bosom  the  Christ 
who  was  crucified  for  sin,  does  indeed  torment  the  old 
man;  and  the  old  man,  a  strong  man  armed,  keeps  his 
goods  in  peace  as  long  as  he  can.  The  old  man  will 
not  be  spared  at  Christ's  coming;  he  will  be  crucified. 
When  he  is  put  off"  a  new  nature  is  put  on,  and  the  new 
nature  has  new  joys.  There  was  great  joy  in  that  city 
when  Christ  was  preached  to  the  citizens.  This,  how- 
ever, is  the  ultimate  result,  not  the  first  effect  of  such 
preaching.  "  This  child  is  set  for  \.\\^  fall  and  the  ris- 
ing again  of  many  in  Israel."  These  Samaritans,  when 
we  get  a  glimpse  of  them,  are  bearing  home  their  sheaves 
with  rejoicing;  but  the  seed-time  was  moist  with  their 


Fruit — Joy.  159 

tears.  The  pleasures  of  sin  have  been  rent  off,  and  the 
patient  cried  at  the  rending;  but  the  joy  of  the  Lord 
has  now  come. 

In  the  world  of  a  man's  own  heart  and  life  he  lived 
without  God;  lived  and  laughed  because  God  was  not 
there;  trembled  sometimes  in  the  midst  of  his  mirth 
with  an  instinctive  dread  lest  God  should  burst  into 
his  world  and  quench  its  mirth  in  wrath.  But  at  lengtli 
the  Stranger  who  long  knocked  outside  has  come  in.  At 
his  presence  the  former  joys  fled;  but  with  his  presence 
come  new  joys  —  the  peace  of  God  that  passeth  all 
understanding. 

Some  people  at  some  times — and  I  mention  this  out- 
ward and  visible  thing  at  present  mainly  for  the  light 
which  it  throws  as  an  analogy  on  another  that  is  secret 
and  unseen — are  found  willing  to  convert  the  sweet  still 
rest  of  night  into  a  scene  of  crowded,  noisy,  toilsome 
revelr3\  They  light  up  the  darkness  into  a  kind  of  art- 
ificial brilliance,  and  deck  themselves  into  a  kind  of 
conventional  beauty;  and  they  toil  like  navvies  in  a 
close,  crowded,  suffocating  room.  When  the  sun  arises 
on  this  scene  its  hollowness  is  detected,  and  its  false 
brilliancy  put  to  shame.  How  dull  the  flicker  of  the 
lamps  is  now  !  how  yellow  the  flush  that  glowed  on  the 
heated  cheek  !  how  tawdry  and  dusty  the  light  flowing 
robes  !     They  are  all  fain  to  get  out  of  sight. 

But  yonder  are  two  youths  on  the  mountain-top, 
there  in  time  to  greet  the  sun's  rising.  They  drink  in 
the  golden  glory  that  precedes  and  accompanies  his 
appearing  in  the  east;  and  then,  in  his  mild  morning 
light,  they  search  among  the  grass  for  the  flowers,  that 
bend  their  necks  to  anticipate  his  coming,  and  open 
their  bosoms  to  take  in  his  light. 

Suppose  now  that  one  of  those  night  revellers  should 
get  a  glimpse  of  these  two  as  he  is  skulking  home,  and 
should  say,  "These  are  dull  fellows,  that  shut  their 
cold  hearts  against  all  pleasure."  It  is  sheer  ignorance 
and  impudence.  Those  youths  take  in  more  joy — more 
natural  human  delight — in  an  hour  of  their  morning 
walk,  than  the  souls  of  that  whole  company  have  ca- 
pacity to  contain. 

In  like  manner,  in  the  secret  of  a  soul,  they  make  a 
great  mistake  who  think  that  to  abandon  the  crackline 


i6o  TJie   ChiircJi   in   the  House. 

thorns  of  ungodly  mirth  is  to  plunge  into  spiritual  gloom. 
They  who  through  Christ  have  been  reconciled  to  God, 
and  walk  in  the  light  of  his  countenance,  have  indeed 
allowed  one  kind  of  happiness  to  be  chased  away;  but 
it  is  like  changing  the  flickering  of  the  night  lamp  for 
the  risen  sun,  and  the  breath  of  the  dancing  hall  when 
the  night  is  far  spent  for  the  morning  breeze  on  the 
mountain. 

There  was  joy  in  that  city.  Christ  offered  to  a  city 
or  a  soul,  and  kept  out,  seems  like  a  cloud  of  wrath 
hanging  in  the  heavens  over  it — a  terror;  but  Christ 
freely  offered,  and  believingly  accepted,  by  a  city  or  a 
soul,  becomes  a  joy  which  life  could  not  give,  and  death 
cannot  destroy. 


XXXV. 

SENT  TO    TJIE  DESERT. 

'^  And  the  angel  of  the  Lord  spake  unto  Philip,  saying.  Arise,  and  go 
toivard  the  south,  unto  the  way  that  gocth  down  from  yerusalein  unto 
Gaza,  which  is  desert." — Acts  via.  26. 

After  the  episode  regarding  Simon  the  Sorcerer,  and 
the  mission  of  Peter  and  John  from  the  Church  at  Jeru- 
salem to  visit  the  converts  in  Samaria,  the  narrative 
of  Philip's  ministry  is  resumed.  He  is  sent  now,  not  to 
a  populous  city,  but  to  a  desert;  not  to  a  crowd  of  Sa- 
maritans, but  to  a  solitary  Ethiopian.  A  message, 
which  he  recognized  as  from  the  Lord,  reached  Philip 
to  the  effect  that  he  should  "arise,  and  go  toward  the 
south,  unto^the  way  that  goeth  down  from  Jerusalem 
unto  Gaza,  which  is  desert." 

Both  "way"  and  "Gaza"  being  feminine,  it  is  not 
certainly  indicated  whether  it  is  the  road  or  the  city 
that  is  described  as  a  desert.  It  so  happened  that  Gaza 
was  standing  at  the  period  when  Philip  preached,  but 
was  demolished  at  the  period  when  Luke  composed  his 
treatise.  Some  understand  accordingly,  that  the  words 
*'  this  is  desert  "  are  the  historian's  note  on  the  condi- 


SiVii  to  the  Dt'scrt.  l6r 

tion  of  the  town  when  lie  was  writing.  Others  take 
the  words  as  part  of  the  angel's  message,  intimating 
that  the  path  lay  through  a  wilderness.  Though  both 
come  to  the  same  in  the  end,  the  second  seems  the 
more  natural  construction.  The  road  leads  through 
an  uninhabited  country.  There  were  more  ways  than 
one  from  Jerusalem  to  Gaza.  One  led  by  Hebron  south- 
ward, and  the  other  took  a  westerly  direction. 

"  He  arose  and  went:"  he  was  not  disobedient  to 
the  heavenly  vision.  If,  like  Jonah,  he  had  looked  for 
excuses,  he  would  have  found  them  in  abundance.  He 
was  well  employed  in  a  populous  district.  He  had  a 
wide  door — a  multitude  of  listeners  when  he  preached 
— a  multitude  of  inquirers  when  he  was  done.  Many 
believed.  The  fields  were  white:  and  the  laborer  was 
getting  his  bosom  filled  with  sheaves.  Had  he  been 
called  from  one  Samaritan  town  to  another  as  large 
and  as  needy,  he  might  have  perceived  the  reasonable- 
ness of  the  call.  But  the  demand  is  that  he  should 
leave  the  city  and  go  to  a  desert.  It  is  a  trial  of  faith 
analogous  to  Abraham's.  It  required  a  simple,  unques- 
tioning trust,  while  all  the  appearances  were  adverse. 

Whether  he  took  the  path  by  Hebron  or  that  which 
lies  more  westward,  Philip  at  length  passed  out  of  the 
inhabited  regions,  and  penetrated  into  the  inhospitable 
tract  which  stretches  southward  to  Egypt  and  the  Red 
Sea.  Here  he  threads  his  way  over  broken  stones  and 
shifting  sands,  doing  his  best  to  keep  the  track  that 
former  travellers  have  made. 

Afloat  on  the  sand-sea,  the  evangelist  is  like  one 
of  those  master-mariners  who,  at  their  sovereign's  com- 
mand, set  sail  with  sealed  orders  not  to  be  opened  till 
they  reach  a  certain  indicated  spot  of  the  ocean.  Philip 
as  yet  did  not  know  why  he  was  sent  to  this  place,  or 
v/hat  he  was  expected  to  do  there;  but  he  counted  that 
his  orders  would  open  when  he  reached  the  spot.  The 
orders,  accordingly,  all  open,  like  the  prison-doors  for 
Peter,  of  their  own  accord,  and  the  whole  plan  is  re- 
vealed: "Behold,  a  man  of  Ethiopia,  a  eunuch  of  great 
authority  under  Candace  queen  of  the  Ethiopians,  who 
had  the  charge  of  all  her  treasure,  and  had  come  to 
Jerusalem  for  to  worship,  was  returning,  and  sitting  in 
his  chariot  read  Esaias  the  prophet." 


r62  TJie   Chin-ch   in   tJie  House. 

These  two  men  meet  in  the  desert:  the  one,  a  sinner 
uneasy  seeking-  a  Saviour;  the  other,  a  called  and  quali- 
fied minister  of  Christ.  The  one  is  a  thirsting  soul;  the 
other  is  a  "chosen  vessel"  charged  with  the  water  of 
life.  The  one  offers,  the  other  receives  Christ.  They 
part  again:  Philip  to  pursue  his  ministry;  the  Ethiopian 
rejoicing  in  the  Lord.  They  met  and  parted  in  a  day, 
perhaps  in  an  hour.  At  the  beginning  of  that  inter- 
view the  Ethiopian  was  timidly  asking,  "What  must 
I  do  to  be  saved  }''  At  the  close  of  it  he  resumed  his 
journey,  a  Christian  in  the  full  assurance  of  hope.  They 
approached  from  different  directions,  on  converging  lines, 
until  they  met  on  a  point  like  the  apex  of  the  letter  >  ; 
but  having  met,  they  soon  separated  again,  like  the 
crossing  lines  of  the  letter  X  »  and  probably  never  saw 
each  other  more  in  the  body. 

The  two  lines  on  which  they  approached  rose  like 
rivers  in  far  distant  hills,  and  flowed  on  until  they  met 
at  a  point  in  the  desert  between  Jerusalem  and  the 
border  of  Egypt. 

Trace  the  course  of  the  Ethiopian  treasurer.  Late 
in  the  preceding,  or  early  in  the  same  year,  while  the 
mild  winter  of  that  region  kept  mornings  and  evenings 
cool,  a  commotion  might  have  been  observed  in  the 
principal  street  of  the  Abyssinian  metropolis  at  the 
departure  of  a  caravan  for  the  north.  It  is  the  grand 
vizier  of  the  queen,  starting  on  a  religious  pilgrimage. 
The  bystanders  do  not  exactly  know  the  reason  of  the 
journey,  but  one  has  heard  a  neighbor  tell  that  the 
chief  treasurer  had  been  much  taken  up  of  late  with 
stories  told  by  travelling  Jewish  merchants,  of  a  mighty 
prophet  who  had  arisen  in  Judsea.  The  treasurer,  it 
was  rumored,  was  going  all  the  way  to  Jerusalem  to 
worship  the  God  of  Israel,  and  seek  the  Messiah  who 
was  at  that  time  expected  to  come. 

We  lose  sight  of  the  Ethiopian  grandee,  alike  on  his 
toilsome  journey  by  the  bank  of  the  Nile,  and  through 
the  wilderness;  we  never  get  a  glimpse  of  him  among 
the  crowds,  native  and  foreign,  who  congregate  in  Je- 
rusalem to  worship  at  the  feast.  Where  he  was  and 
how  employed  during  the  events  which  signalized  that 
Passover,  we  cannot  tell;  but  we  know  that,  after  wait- 
ing  long  and   inquiring  much,  he  called  his  servants 


St^/f  to  the  Di-scrt.  163 

and  ordered  his  waggon,  and  started  on  his  journey 
homeward,  while  the  longing  of  his  soul  that  had 
brought  him  so  far  remained  still  unsatisfied.  He  was 
thirsty;  he  came  to  the  place  where  the  springs  were 
opened;  and  yet  he  went  away  still  athirst.  There  has 
not  been  such  a  revival  meeting  since  on  earth  as  that 
one  which  took  place  in  Jerusalem  while  the  Ethiopian 
was  there;  and  yet  he  came  away  sorrowful.  On  that 
day  of  Pentecost  the  Holy  Spirit  was  poured  on  many, 
but  not  on  him;  at  least  so  he  thought  and  felt.  After 
he  has  come  so  far,  it  is  sad  to  see  him  returning  with- 
out his  errand.  Yet  it  is  written  in  the  Scriptures, 
"  Seek,  and  ye  shall  find."  Can  the  promise — can  the 
Promiser  be  true  }  Yes;  and  this  is  a  conspicuous  ex- 
ample of  his  faithfulness.  This  Ethiopian,  secretly 
taught  of  the  Spirit,  did  not  limit  God  to  times  and 
places.  As  he  left  Ethiopia  and  went  to  Jerusalem 
seeking,  so  he  left  Jerusalem  and  returned  to  Ethiopia 
still  seeking.  He  departed  from  the  temple;  but  he 
still  communed  with  God.  When  the  period  of  public 
worship  had  passed,  he  persevered  in  private  searching 
the  Scriptures. 

Mark  the  man  well:  he  has  not  abandoned  the 
search.  The  whole  meaning  of  that  sable  chief,  as  he 
bends  in  silence  over  the  parchment,  seems  to  be, 
"  I  will  not  let  thee  go,  except  thou  bless  me."  It  is 
true  he  has  not  obtained  what  he  sought  at  Jerusa- 
lem, so  as  to  be  satisfied  when  he  departs;  but  he  has 
learned  something  at  Jerusalem  which  is  of  use  to  him 
now.  Although  his  want  is  not  supplied,  he  knows 
better  now  what  his  want  is.  As  the  thirsty  blindly 
gropes  for  water,  he  comes  near  the  place  where  a 
fountain  has  been  opened.  An  instinct  is  astir  within 
him,  as  true  as  that  which  guides  an  infant  to  its  mo- 
ther's breast.  He  is  feeling  for  the  sufferings  of  Christ. 
Before  he  saw  Philip,  or  obtained  any  help,  the  place 
of  the  Scripture  which  he  read  was  this:  "  He  was  led 
as  a  lamb  to  the  slaughter."  All  things  are  now  ready. 
This  man  will  be  born  there.  In  that  desert  place 
Ethiopia  is  stretching  out  her  hands  to  God,  and  will 
not  be  left  to  stretch  them  out  in  vain. 


164  TJie   CJuirch   2/1  the  House. 

XXXVI. 

A    MAN  OF  ETHIOPIA. 

' '  And  he  arose  and  went:  and,  behold,  a  man  of  Ethiopia,  a  eunuch 
of  great  authority  under  Candace  queen  of  the  Ethiopians,  who  had  tlie 
charge  of  all  her  treasure,  and  had  come  to  yerusalem  for  to  worship, 
teas  returning,  and  sitting  in  his  chariot  read  Esaias  the  prophet.'^ — • 
Acts  viii.  27,  28. 

Pause  a  little  here  and  contemplate  that  interesting 
stranger,  while  Philip  opens  to  him  the  word  of  life. 
He  is  a  man  of  Ethiopia.  In  the  main,  it  is  the  country 
which  is  now  called  Abyssinia.  It  lies  on  the  eastern 
edge  of  the  African  continent,  north  of  the  equator, 
and  bounded  on  the  east  by  the  southern  portion  of 
the  Red  Sea.  It  is  a  land  of  mountains  and  rivers.  Its 
climate  is  warm  and  its  soil  fertile.  It  is  of  great  ex- 
tent. In  those  days  it  was  a  powerful  kingdom;  and 
if  its  people  were  civilized,  it  might  become  powerful 
again.  Some  of  the  streams  which  constitute  the  Nile 
rise  in  Abyssinia. 

The  inhabitants  are  very  black.  Although  we  can- 
not be  certain  of  the  nationality  of  the  queen's  treas- 
urer, yet,  in  the  absence  of  any  information  to  the  con- 
trary, we  must  assume  that  he  was  a  man  of  Ethiopia 
by  birth  as  well  as  by  allegiance.  In  that  carriage 
Philip  sits  beside  a  colored  man,  and  leads  him  into 
the  kingdom  of  God.  The  Word  is  not,  Blessed  are 
the  fair  in  skin,  but.  Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart. 
The  Ethiopian's  color  cannot  be  changed,  but  his  char- 
acter may.  He  may  become  a  new  creature  in  Christ. 
If  he  is  born  again,  he  will  see  the  kingdom,  and  enter 
it  too.  It  does  not  go  by  good  looks.  There  is  no 
respect  of  persons  with  God.  A  few  days  in  the  grave 
will  make  white  and  black  people  all  alike;  and  the 
Ethiopian,  if  he  has  been  renewed,  will  be  very  beau- 
tiful in  God's  sight  when  he  rises  from  the  grave.  An- 
gels will  gaze  in  wonder  on  his  gracefulness,  as  he  en- 
ters the  gates  of  the  New  Jerusalem. 

This  inquirer  occupied  a  very  high  place  in  his  own 
country.     He  was  like  Joseph  under  Pharaoh.     Inas- 


A   Man  of  Ethiopia.  165 

much  as  the  sovereign  was  a  woman,  the  first  lord  of 
her  treasury  would  probably  enjoy  more  power  than 
Joseph  possessed  under  an  intelligent  and  active  king. 
Irresponsible  power  is  not  favorable  to  spiritual  humil- 
ity; but,  in  this  case,  grace  triumphed  over  all  obsta- 
cles. Although  the  man  had  much  of  this  world's 
treasure,  it  did  not  satisfy  his  soul.  He  did  not  say, 
"Soul,  thou  hast  much  goods  laid  up  for  many  years; 
take  thine  ease,  eat,  drink,  and  be  merry."  He  pos- 
sessed in  abundance  all  that  the  world  could  give,  and 
yet  he  was  wretched.  In  some  way,  to  us  unknown, 
he  had  found  out  his  sins,  but  had  not  yet  discovered 
the  wa}^  of  pardon.  His  conscience  told  him  of  his 
guilt,  but  could  not  reveal  a  Redeemer.  So  the  great 
man,  to  whom  everybody  paid  court  in  the  capital, 
went  about  bent  under  a  load  of  grief,  and  inwardly 
sighing.  Oh,  wretched  man  that  I  am  ! 

Some  one — perhaps  a  little  maid  who  had  been 
taken  prisoner  in  war — observing  the  sadness  of  the 
treasurer,  intimated  that  he  might  obtain  a  cure  at  Je- 
rusalem, where  they  worshipped  the  one  living  and 
true  God.  Having  heard  that  there  was  a  place  on 
earth  where  God  makes  himself  known,  he  could  not 
rest  till  he  found  it.  Judging  from  the  length  of  his 
journey,  the  eagerness  of  his  search,  and  the  period  of 
his  return,  we  think  it  probable  that  he  was  in  Jerusa- 
lem when  Jesus  was  crucified.  We  have  no  account 
of  how  he  spent  his  time  in  the  city;  but  it  is  certain 
he  would  frequent  the  temple  at  the  hour  of  prayer, 
and  listen  to  those  men  of  learning  who  explained  the 
Scriptures  in  public,  and  kept  alive  the  hope  of  a  Mes- 
siah. It  is  possible  he  may  have  followed  the  crowd 
as  it  streamed  along  the  Via  Dolorosa  early  in  the 
morning  towards  Calvary,  and  seen  at  a  distance  the 
elevated  cross  and  the  Man  of  sorrows.  This  sable 
stranger,  we  may  be  assured,  did  not  mock,  or  join  the 
cry,  Crucify  him.  He  would  rather  stand  by  in  silent 
tears. 

As  yet,  however,  the  Ethiopian  did  not  know  Christ. 
Never  man  spake  like  this  man;  never  man  lived,  never 
man  died,  like  this  man;  but  still  the  stranger  did  not 
know  that  here  was  opened  a  fountain  for  sin  and  for 
uncleanness.     He  was  very  thirsty,  and  his  lip  was  near 


l66  The  Church  in  the  House. 

the  fountain  of  living  water;  yet  he  continued  thirsty 
still. 

He  must  have  been  present  at  the  Pentecost  revival, 
and  heard  in  his  own  tongue  the  wonderful  works  of 
God,  spoken  by  Galilean  fishermen.  From  the  public 
assemblies  he  retired  to  the  secret  study  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, and  from  the  Scriptures  again  to  the  public 
meetings  for  prayer;  but  all  the  while  he  was  only  a 
seeker — he  had  not  found  peace  of  conscience,  pardon 
of  sin,  peace  with  God. 

At  last  the  time  arrived  when  he  must  leave  Jeru- 
salem; and,  alas!  he  must  go  empty  away.  He  had 
not  found  what  he  came  to  seek.  Having  a  carriage 
and  servants  at  his  disposal,  he  would  doubtless  carry 
water  and  other  provisions,  so  that  he  would  incur  no 
danger  of  want  in  passing  through  the  desert.  But 
the  water  that  he  carried  in  a  skin  could  not  satisfy 
the  soul  of  the  Ethiopian  prince.  After  he  drank  of 
that  water  he  thirsted  again.  He  was  sitting  in  his 
carriage  alone  one  day,  with  an  awning  over  his  head 
to  defend  it  from  the  sun.  A  large  parchment  lay 
outspread  on  his  knee.  He  was  searching  there  for 
the  water  of  life  as  eagerly  as  he  would  have  searched 
near  a  group  of  palm-trees  for  a  spring,  if  he  had  found 
himself  alone  and  destitute  in  the  desert.  Some  in- 
stinct in  his  soul,  stimulated  and  directed  by  what  he 
had  seen  and  heard  at  Jerusalem,  told  him  that  near 
this  spot  the  water  of  life  would  certainly  be  found. 
"  He  was  led  as  a  lamb  to  the  slaughter."  He  pauses 
there.  He  cannot  go  past  that  spot.  I  think  I  see 
a  great  tear  gather  in  the  dark  eye  of  the  noble  Af- 
rican, and  dropping  on  the  book,  "Led  as  a  lamb 
to  the  slaughter!"  This  reminds  him  of  the  wonder- 
ful man  whom  they  had  nailed  to  the  cross  on  Cal- 
vary. He  muses  alternately  on  the  verse  which  he 
has  read  and  the  scene  which  he  witnessed.  His  heart 
is  throbbing,  and  his  eyes  are  swimming.  "  Of  whom 
speaketh  the  prophet  this  .'^  of  himself,  or  of  some  other 
MAN  1 "  Does  the  word  point  to  that  other  man  who 
died  on  the  accursed  tree  1  Those  looks  and  tones 
were  more  like  heaven  than  earth.  When  he  was  re- 
viled, he  reviled  not  again.  When  the  thief  at  his 
side  cried,  "  Lord,  remember  me,"  he  answered.  God- 


The  Meeting.  iGj 

like,  "To-day  shalt  thou  be  with  me  in  paradise." 
Tliat  other  man !  Of  whom  speaketh  tiie  prophet 
this? 

At  that  moment  "the  anxious  inquirer  '  lifted  up 
his  head,  and  descried  a  soHtary  trav^eller  marchiui^ 
on  foot  at  some  distance  over  the  burnin:;  sand;  for 
>ou  can  discern  an  object  at  a  distance  when  the 
c,^round  is  level,  and  destitute  of  vegetation.  When 
they  meet,  the  inquirer's  question  is  ready;  it  had  al- 
ready been  brooding  silently  in  his  own  breast;  and 
now,  when  he  finds  a  teacher,  the  demand  comes  out 
articulate  and  intense.  Of  whom  speaketh  the  prophet 
this  .^  of  himself,  or  of  some  other  man  ^ 

Deliverance  is  near.  The  Lord  is  not  slack  con- 
cerning his  promise.  "  Seek,  and  ye  shall  find."  The 
Ethiopian  was  in  downright  earnest:  when  he  could 
not  obtain  pardon  and  peace  in  Abyssinia,  he  travelled 
to  Jerusalem,  and  when  he  failed  there  he  started  on 
his  journey  homeward  again;  but  he  continued  seeking. 
He  never  let  go;  the  line  between  his  soul  and  the 
Saviour  whom  he  sought  was  at  no  time  permitted  to 
slacken.  He  had  leaned  on  it,  and  kept  it  tight.  At 
night,  when  he  fell  asleep,  he  fell  asleep  in  the  act  of 
drawing,  as  if  he  would  by  violence  draw  a  pardon 
down,  and  when  he  awoke  his  spirit  was  still  in  the 
same  attitude:  I  will  not  let  thee  go  except  thou  bless 
me. 

The  Lord  in  heaven  is  well  pleased  with  this  perti- 
nacity and  perseverance.  He  opens  his  hand  wide,  and 
satisfies  this  longing  soul. 


XXXVIL 

THE  MEETING. 


"  Then  the  Spirit  said  unto  Philip,    Go  near,   and  join  thyself  to  this 
chariot y — Acts  viii.  29. 

Marriages,  they  say,  are  made  in  heaven:  that  is,  the 
steps  of  two,  both  being  God's  dear  children,  are  so 


1 68  The   CJuircJi  in  the  House. 

directed  by  an  overruling  Providence,  that  after  each 
has  passed  over  many  windings,  the  two  paths  con- 
verge, and  the  two  lives  meet  and  melt  into  one  like 
two  rivers,  flowing  thenceforth  one  broader,  deeper, 
j-.tronger  stream.  Marriages  are  made  in  heaven;  and 
two  or  three  other  things  besides  marriages  are  made 
there.  Meetings  that  are  of  shorter  duration,  and 
partnerships  that  are  less  intimate,  come  under  the 
same  rule.  God,  who  gives  law  to  the  ocean,  does  not 
neglect  a  dew-drop.  The  hairs  of  your  head  are  all 
numbered.  Our  meetings  and  partings  are  under  law 
to  God.  It  is  not  in  man  that  walketh  to  direct  his 
steps. 

The  meeting  of  Philip  and  the  Ethiopian  prince  in 
the  desert  near  Gaza  is  recorded  with  great  precision 
in  Scripture.  On  that  meeting  much  depended;  from 
that  meeting  great  things  sprang.  What  hath  the  Lord 
wrought  !  And  how  wonderfully  he  hath  wrought  it  ! 
If  his  purposes  in  creation  require  the  meeting  of  two 
circling  worlds  at  some  period  in  the  evolutions  of  time, 
he  will  so  arrange  that  the  two  shall  approach  and 
touch  each  other  at  the  very  point  of  space  and  time 
which  he  has  designed.  The  same  might  and  the  same 
wisdom  have  been  at  work  to  arrange  a  meeting  where- 
ever  and  whenever  one  earthen  vessel  charged  bears 
Christ,  and  another  earthen  vessel  empty  receives 
Christ  at  a  brother's  hand.  We  must  not  suppose  that 
this  meeting  between  the  evangelist  and  the  Ethiopian 
was  arranged  by  the  Lord,  and  that  he  leaves  our  meet- 
ings to  the  chapter  of  accidents.  This  case  is  recorded 
as  a  specimen  of  the  Lord's  way.  This  prophecy  is  not 
of  private  interpretation;  not  a  letter,  but  a  type  for 
throwing  off  millions.  It  is  not  that  the  Redeemer  and 
Ruler  of  the  world  made  these  trysts  in  ancient  times, 
and  ceased  to  make  them  afterwards.  He  ceased  to 
reveal  and  record  them,  after  he  had  given  character- 
istic specimens;  but  he  has  not  ceased  to  make  them 
and  keep  them. 

These  meetings  have  been  frequent  in  our  own  land 
of  late  years.  Many  messengers  run  to  and  fro,  each 
bent  on  fulfilling  his  own  commission,  each  bent  on 
getting  a  soul  for  his  hire.  How  thickly  the  royal 
couriers  pass   and   repass.     If  our   eyes  were   opened, 


The   I\ lectin^.  169 

the  whole  mountain  would  seem  full  of  chariots  of  fire 
and  horses  of  fire.  See  that  ye  walk  circumspectly, 
not  as  fools,  redeeming  the  time;  for  ye  know  neither 
the  day  nor  the  hour  when  the  messenger  sent  by  God 
to  meet  you  on  your  path  may  heave  in  sight,  and  offer 
}-ou  the  friendship  of  the  King.  The  place  whereon 
\'ou  now  stand  ma}'  be  holy  ground  to  you — the  birth- 
place for  a  better  life.  On  the  right  hand  or  the  left,  in 
the  house  of  prayer,  in  the  public  street,  in  the  lonely 
path,  the  messenger  may  appear,  charged  to  win  a  soul 
to  Christ. 

Brother  or  sister  still  unconverted,  if  a  message  of 
love  is  out  from  the  King  to  you,  it  would  be  sad  to 
miss  the  bearer  in  the  busy  throng  of  life.  Would  you 
not  grieve  if  he  should  go  by  .^  Then  fear  not:  those 
who  desire  to  meet  him  will  not  miss  him.  That 
vacuum  in  a  longing  heart  would  draw  the  messenger 
and  the  message  to  your  bosom  although  they  were 
at  the  utmost  end  of  the  earth.  Though  the  place 
was  desert  and  the  path  but  dimly  traced,  and  the 
time  not  told  at  all,  Philip  and  the  Ethiopian  met, 
with  all  the  exactitude  of  the  tides  and  seasons. 

See  on  a  map — for  the  actual  landscape  is  too  wide 
to  be  comprehended  in  one  view — the  track  of  two 
converging  rivers,  from  their  several  sources  on  separ- 
ate mountain  ranges  to  the  point  of  confluence  in  the 
intervening  valley.  There  are  many  windings  in  their 
courses.  At  some  parts,  indeed,  they  flow  right  away 
from  each  other,  and  sometimes  back  toward  their 
springs;  but  in  spite  of  all  these  partial  and  temporary  di- 
vergencies, on  the  whole  the  two  streams  come  slowly  but 
surely  to  a  common  meeting-place.  So  spring  far  apart 
two  human  lives,  and  so  these  distant  lives  flow  into 
one.  God,  who  made  the  mountains  and  the  valleys, 
and  bade  the  rivers  run  among  them,  brought  these 
lives  into  being,  and  brought  them  into  one.  He 
brought  them  together:  and  that  for  a  purpose  of  his 
own.  Stand  in  awe  of  the  meetings  and  partings  of 
life.  Reverence  the  friendships  which  you  form  and 
the  farewells  which  you  pronounce.  When  one  is  a  dis- 
ciple of  Christ,  and  the  other  is  still  of  the  world,  the 
Master  meant  by  the  meeting  that  grace  should  find 
its  way  from  the  vessel  that  has  been  filled  into  the 


I/O  The   Church  in  the  House. 

vessel  that  still  remains  empty.  Vessel  filled,  freely 
you  have  received,  freely  give.  Vessel  empty,  although 
all  good  comes  from  Christ  the  Head,  much  good  comes 
through  Christians  the  members.  The  one  should  strive 
to  be,  and  the  other  to  get,  a  blessing. 

These  meetings,  long  prepared  and  wisely  arranged 
in  providence,  are  sometimes  lost  through  obstinate 
unbelief.  What  a  meeting  that  was  in  Herod's  judg- 
ment hall  at  Caesarea  between  Paul  and  Felix  !  How 
far  up  the  lines  of  preparation  for  it  ran;  and  how  skil- 
fully they  were  held  in  the  hands  of  the  Omniscient 
until  the  missionary  of  the  cross  and  the  Roman  ruler 
met  at  last !  The  Roman  listened,  and  the  missionary 
began:  Now,  Felix,  now  is  your  time;  now  or  never. 
But  he  hardened  his  heart  and  turned  away.  He  cast 
out  the  arrow  of  conviction  after  it  had  gone  more  than 
halfway  through  the  searing  of  his  conscience.  "Go 
thy  way  for  this  time:"  this  time!  fool!  you  will  never 
get  another.  He  thought  he  was  only  politely  putting 
off  the  Christian;  but,  in  reality,  he  was  rudely  reject- 
ing Christ.  To  lose  such  a  meeting  may  be  to  lose 
your  soul. 

That  Ethiopian,  on  the  contrary,  being  thirsty,  wel- 
comed the  cold  water.  He  received  the  kingdom  of 
God  as  a  little  child;  and  the  kingdom  became  all  his 
own.  He  believed  to  the  saving  of  his  soul,  and  went 
on  his  way  rejoicing.  If  any  place  in  this  world  can 
remain  consecrated  more  than  another  in  the  memoiy 
of  the  saints,  that  spot  in  the  desert  near  Gaza  is  a 
sacred  spot  to  one  of  the  saved  multitude  who  stand 
round  the  throne  in  white  clothing,  for  there  he  was 
born  to  the  inheritance  which  he  possesses  now. 

Philip  ran  to  meet  him.  Hitherto  he  had  walked, 
and  that,  perhaps,  slowly.  So  when  two  objects  afloat 
attract  each  other  by  hidden  magnets,  their  mutual 
motion  towards  a  meeting  is  slow  at  first  and  scarcely 
perceptible;  but  when  they  have  approached  near,  the 
movement  quickens,  and  they  traverse  the  rest  of  the 
space  at  a  rush. 

The  evangelist,  on  approaching  the  chariot,  heard  its 
occupant  reading.  The  student,  though  alone,  must 
have  been  reading  aloud.  It  is  a  mark  of  simplicity 
and  earnestness.     Like  Jacob  in  a  similar  solitude,  this 


The  Seed  Soiun  and  the  Harvest  Reaped.      171 

man  wrestled  with  the  angel  of  the  covenant.  The 
kingdom  of  heaven  suffereth  violence,  and  the  King 
loves  to  feel  the  violent  pressing  with  all  his  might  at 
the  gate. 

The  reading  aloud  also  gave  Philip  a  natural  and 
easy  opportunity  of  introducing  himself:  "  Undcr- 
standest  thou  what  thou  readest  .'' "  A  very  sugges- 
tive question,  by  the  way,  and  very  suitable  in  our  own 
times.  To  read  the  Scriptures  is  a  duty  and  a  privilege, 
but  it  is  only  a  means  to  an  end.  If  the  ground  do  not 
take  in  the  seed,  the  seed  left  on  the  surface  is  soon 
carried  away. 


XXXVIII. 

THE  SEED  SOIVN  AND    THE  HARVEST  REAPED. 

"■^  And  P/iilip  ran  thither  to  him,  and  heard  hi  in  read  the  prophet 
Esaias,  and  said,  Understandcst  thou  luhat  thou  rcadcst?''''  etc. — Acts 
VIII.  30-39. 

Sometimes  a  sermon  is  reported  and  published  word 
for  word  in  full.  At  other  times  the  report  gives,  in  a 
more  or  less  condensed  form,  the  substance  of  the  dis- 
course. We  possess  a  report  of  Philip's  discourse  de- 
livered that  day  in  the  desert  to  a  solitary  listener,  but 
it  is  in  an  abbreviated  form.  It  is  the  briefest  report 
of  a  sermon  that  I  ever  saw;  and  yet  it  is  the  most 
complete.  It  is  a  wonderful  example  of  much  in  little. 
"  He  preached  unto  him  Jesus."  One  precious  word 
expresses  the  doctrine  which  the  evangelist  taught:  that 
word  is  "Jesus."  The  matter  of  the  sermon  lies  all  in 
that  one  blessed  name.  But  even  that  is  not  enough. 
The  saving  doctrine  contained  in  this  name  was  pressed 
on  the  heart  and  conscience  of  the  hearer.  It  was  not 
only  Jesus;  but  Jesus  unto  him,  then  and  there. 

It  is  perhaps  at  this  latter  point  that  most  of  our 
preaching  fails.  In  evangelical  Churches  there  is  a  full 
declaration  of  the  gospel.  There  is  much  sound  expo- 
sition.    All  that  is  implied  in  the  name  Jesus,  is  ex- 


1/2  The   Church   in   the  House. 

hibited  skilfully  and  faithfully  before  the  multitude. 
But  the  ministry  often  halts  for  want  of  courage  to 
press  Jesus  upon  the  conscience  of  every  man.  The 
outspread  sun-rays  make  all  the  ground  bright;  but  the 
concentration  of  the  rays  on  a  spot  makes  that  spot 
burn.  Under  the  skilful  preaching  of  Philip,  the  Ethi- 
opian felt  that  Christ  Jesus  was  then  offered  and  pressed 
upon  him  the  same  as  if  there  had  not  been  another 
man  in  the  world,  the  same  as  if  the  Son  of  God  had 
come  for  the  single  purpose  of  redeeming  him  from  sin, 
and  leading  him  into  holy  rest. 

While  preaching  depends  effectually  on  the  demon- 
stration of  the  Spirit,  it  depends  subordinately  and  in- 
strumentally  on  the  pointed  application  of  the  gospel 
method  to  the  heart  of  the  listener  as  if  he  were  the 
only  listener,  and  as  if  the  Lord  from  heaven  stood 
before  him  demanding  an  immediate  answer.  This 
home  preaching  took  instant  effect.  The  Ethiopian 
understood  the  message,  and  accepted  Christ.  He 
believed,  was  baptized,  and  went  on  his  way  rejoicing. 

"He  went  on  his  way."  He  must  tread  the  desert, 
although  he  is  now  a  son  of  God  and  an  heir  of  glory. 
He  is  not  instantly  carried  home.  He  pursues  his  jour- 
ney under  the  hot  sun,  and  upon  the  hot  sand.  When 
Christ  prayed  for  his  disciples,  he  said,  "I  pray  not 
that  thou  shouldest  take  them  out  of  the  world,  but 
that  thou  shouldest  keep  them  from  the  evil."  The 
winter  is  as  cold  and  the  summer  as  warm  to  Christ's 
disciples  as  to  other  men.  They  pass  through  fire  and 
water;  but  the  Father  brings  them  to  a  wealthy  place 
at  last. 

The  Ethiopian  began  that  journey  before  he  had 
found  and  accepted  the  Saviour;  and  now  that  he  is  in 
Christ  a  new  creature,  he  does  not  stop  or  turn  aside. 
He  will  complete  the  journey:  when  he  reaches  home 
he  will  do  homage  to  his  sovereign,  enter  his  office, 
examine  his  books,  give  audience  to  his  subordinates, 
and  generally  attend  to  all  the  duties  of  his  high  office 
in  the  kingdom. 

Here  is  a  useful  lesson  for  Christians  of  all  ranks  and 
in  all  times.  If  your  business  was  lawful  and  honest 
before,  you  need  not  desert  it  when  you  become  a  Chris- 
tian.    A  child  at  school,  a  servant  in  the  house,  a  clerk 


TJic  Seed  Sotc'fi  a)id  the  Harvest  Reaped.       173 

in  the  counting-room,  a  laborer  in  the  field,  a  me- 
chanic in  the  workshop,  a  seaman  before  the  mast, 
a  merchant  in  the  excliange,  need  not  desert  his 
caUing  when  he  enters  a  new  life  of  faith. 

Some  people  indeed  must  abandon  their  calling  when 
they  come  to  Christ.  If  the  business  has  been  sinful 
and  injurious,  the  man  will  not  remain  in  it  an  hour 
after  he  has  become  a  new  creature.  Those  fortune- 
tellers who  haunted  the  precincts  of  the  temple  at 
Ephesus  gave  up  their  trade  as  soon  as  they  believed. 
They  came  to  the  apostles  to  confess  their  wickedness 
and  to  burn  their  books.  They  gave  up  their  trade  and 
their  stock  in  trade  because,  as  soon  as  their  minds  were 
enlightened,  they  perceived  that  they  were  involved  in 
an  occupation  which  offended  God  and  injured  men. 
This  becomes  a  test  of  truth  in  men,  and  an  instrument 
of  glory  to  God.  Many  a  mischievous  business  has  been 
abandoned  and  many  an  unjust  gain  abjured,  when  the 
eyes  of  an  evil-doer's  understanding  have  been  enlight- 
ened and  his  heart  made  new. 

But  this  Ethiopian  gentleman  would  probably  do 
more  good  by  going  home  and  conducting  his  business, 
than  if  he  had  abandoned  his  office  and  followed  Philip 
northward.  The  Lord  has  need  of  witnesses  everywhere, 
in  schools  and  workshops,  in  families,  in  evening  parties, 
in  halls  of  judgment  and  legislation,  in  the  army,  and 
in  ships  at  sea.  Everywhere  the  earth  is  corrupt  and 
needs  salt.  Every  true  Christian  is  a  grain  of  salt;  and 
for  the  world's  good  the  salt  must  be  distributed,  so  as 
to  be  in  contact  with  evil  at  every  point.  It  behoves 
every  disciple  to  have  always  his  savor  in  him,  for  he 
does  not  know  how  soon  and  how  often  the  Lord  may 
have  need  of  him  as  a  witness  to  truth. 

He  went  on  his  way  rejoicing.  Reader,  did  any  one 
ever  whisper  in  your  ear  that  though  religion  may  be 
safe  to  die  with,  it  is  sad  and  melancholy  to  live  in  .-' 
Meet  the  enemy  with  the  Master's  own  reproof:  "  Get 
thee  behind  me,  Satan,  for  thou  savorest  not  the  things 
which  be  of  God,  but  the  things  which  be  of  men."  It 
is  not  a  sorrowful  thing  even  for  this  world  to  know 
that  the  next  is  all  your  own.  It  is  not  a  sad  thing  for 
any  part  of  your  pilgrimage  over  time  to  be  assured 
that  a  place  is  prepared  for  you  at  the  journey's  end^ 


1/4  I^Ji^^   Church  in  the  House. 

a  place  in  the  mansions  of  the  Father's  house,  purchased, 
prepared  by  him  who  loved  you.  It  is  not  fitted  to  damp 
}'our  joy  in  youth  to  have  a  hope  each  time  you  lie  down 
to  sleep  that  if  you  should  not  awake  in  this  life  you 
would  awake  in  heaven.  This  Abyssinian  prince  did 
not  wait  till  his  dying  day  for  the  beginning  of  his  glad- 
ness in  Christ — he  began  to  rejoice  the  moment  he 
believed;  and  it  is  the  nature  of  that  light  to  shine  more 
and  more  unto  the  perfect  day. 

Observe,  as  a  closing  lesson,  what  power  a  thirst- 
ing soul  exerts,  not  over  earth,  but  over  heaven.  An 
empty  human  heart,  longing  for  the  living  water,  can 
command  all  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead  for  its  supply. 
There  could  not  be  rest  in  heaven  while  the  eyes  of  that 
dignified  negro  were  filled  with  tears  and  straining  up- 
ward in  the  desert  of  Gaza.  It  is  said  of  Jesus  once  in 
his  personal  ministry  that  "he  must  needs  go  through 
Samaria."  What  power  laid  that  necessity  on  the  Son 
of  God  }  Ah  !  the  power  was  unseen  by  men,  but  felt 
by  m.en's  Redeemer.  A  poor  sinful  woman  at  Sychar 
was  thirsty,  and  he  must  cast  himself  in  her  way.  So 
here,  Heaven  could  not  be  still  while  the  Ethiopian 
suffers  from  an  unquenched  soul-thirst  on  earth. 

The  drawing  power  of  that  longing  soul  was  great 
beyond  all  calculation.  It  not  only  drew  Philip  away 
from  his  successful  ministry  in  the  cities;  it  drew  for- 
giving love  from  its  fountain  in  the  eternal  God. 

In  certain  sandy  tracts,  both  of  Africa  and  America, 
where  no  rain  ever  falls,  travellers  sometimes  fall  in 
with  a  living  plant.  The  sand  is  dry  in  which  it  is 
rooted,  but  it  is  not  a  dry  root;  it  is  a  succulent  herb. 
Its  leaves  are  thick  and  full  of  sap.  When  they  are 
cut,  a  stream  of  water  flows  from  their  veins  to  refresh 
the  traveller. 

How  comes  this  }  So  far  from  being  left  in  want, 
that  lowly  herb  in  the  Sahara  has  all  the  waters  of  the 
Atlantic  at  its  disposal.  Although  chained  to  the  spot, 
and  apparently  doomed  to  die  of  thirst,  it  can  draw  a 
supply  at  will  from  earth  and  sea.  A  multitude  of 
microscopic  mouths  open  on  the  surface  of  every  leaf. 
These,  as  they  open  and  shut  like  the  lips  of  a  panting 
animal,  suck  the  air  that  leans  on  their  surface — suck 
from  the  air  what  moisture  it  contains.     The  air,  di- 


Sniil.  175 

vested  of  a  portion  of  its  moisture,  draws  from  the  dis- 
tant ocean  to  fill  the  void.  Thus  the  little  lonely  plant 
in  the  heart  of  the  continent,  growinij  in  a  rainless 
■waste,  by  the  mere  silent,  passive  power  of  emptiness, 
draws  its  supply  from  the  world's  great  reservoir  without 
stint.  The  mighty  deep  is  compelled  to  part  with  its 
plenty,  in  order  to  supply  the  wants  of  the  solitary, 
feeble  herb. 

Be  of  good  cheer,  disciples  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  ye  are 
of  more  value  in  his  esteem  than  many  succulent  plants 
of  the  African  desert.  Blessed  are  they  that  thirst,  for 
they  shall  be  satisfied.  Seek,  and  ye  shall  find.  When 
I  am  weak,  then  am  I  strong.  In  the  emptiness  of  a 
soul,  feeling  its  want,  and  longing  for  supply,  resides 
a  power  which  will  draw  the  water  of  life  from  the 
throne  of  God  and  of  the  Lamb. 


XXXIX. 

SAUL. 


^^  And  Saul,  yet  breathing  out  threatenings  and  slaughter  against  the 
disciples  of  the  Lord,  went  unto  the  higfi  priest,  and  desired  of  him  letters 
to  Damascus  to  the  synagogues,  that  if  he  found  any  of  this  way,  whether 
they  were  men  or  women,  he  might  bring  them  bound  unto  Jerusalem,''^  etc. 
— Acts  ix.  1-3. 

Every  one  goes  his  own  way;  every  creature  after  its 
kind. 

The  Ethiopian  Treasurer,  having  obtained  all  he  de- 
sired— having  gained  more  than  a  whole  world  in  that 
desert  place,  "went  on  his  way  rejoicing."  Philip,  hav- 
ing finished  one  work,  instantly  betakes  himself  to  an- 
other. He  does  not  become  a  hanger-on  in  the  palace 
of  his  powerful  convert.  From  Ashdod,  the  first  town 
he  reached  on  his  return,  all  the  way  to  Cssarea,  his 
home,  he  preached  the  gospel  in  every  city.  A  faith- 
ful servant,  not  hiding  but  exercising  his  talent,  he  was 
not  content  with  the  successful  accomplishment  of  his 
errand  to  the  desert  place,  but  took  advantage  of  his 


176  TJte   Church  in  the  House. 

return  journey  to  scatter  the  seed  of  the  kingdom  in 
all  the  towns  of  the  south.  Saul,  too,  on  his  part,  act- 
ing- according  to  his  nature,  is  as  busy  as  the  rest. 
When  last  we  saw  him,  he  was  acquiescing  eagerly  in 
the  martyrdom  of  Stephen  (viii.  i);  and  now,  after  a 
considerable  interval,  he  appears  again,  still  bent  on 
getting  new  victims.  Perhaps,  when  the  Christians 
were  either  driven  away  from  Jerusalem,  or  concealed 
there,  he  found  his  occupation  gone,  and  determined 
to  find  a  new  hunting-field. 

Damascus  was  a  great  city  only  about  one  hundred  and 
forty  miles  distant.  Many  Jews  resided  permanently 
there;  and  probably  some  of  the  fugitives  from  Jerusa- 
lem had  recently  reached  it  in  quest  of  a  refuge.  It  is 
intimated  in  a  subsequent  verse  (13)  that  believing  Jews, 
who  had  left  Jerusalem  after  Stephen's  death,  informed 
Ananias  of  Saul's  arrival. 

Damascus  is  the  oldest  city  known  to  history  still 
flourishing.  It  has  a  population  of  250,000.  Travellers 
describe  with  enthusiasm  the  marvellous  beauty  and 
salubrity  of  its  site.  A  bright  rapid  river,  flowing  from 
the  slopes  of  the  eastern  Lebanon  range,  divides  into 
several  branches  in  the  plain.  Soon  after  passing  the 
city  these  streams  are  absorbed,  and  never  reach  an 
outfall  in  any  sea. 

"  And  Saul,  yet  breathing  out  threatenings."  The 
instigator  and  manager  of  the  first  martyrdom  has  not 
yet  changed;  he  still  breathes  out  threatenings  and 
slaughter  against  the  disciples  of  Jesus,  but  will  not 
do  so  much  longer  now.  This  part  of  his  course  is  near 
an  end;  this  is  the  last  journey  he  will  undertake  as  the 
waster  of  the  Church.  The  days  of  his  rebellion  are 
numbered;  the  hour  of  his  conversion  is  on  the  wing. 
He  is  still  the  persecutor;  but  a  little  while,  and  he  will 
persecute  no  more.  After  this  day,  all  his  days  he  will 
be  persecuted,  until,  like  the  rest  of  the  martyrs,  he  is 
sent  up  in  a  fiery  chariot  to  join  the  company  of  the 
crowned  saints. 

Saul  demanded  from  the  high  priest  a  commission 
empowering  him  to  require  the  assistance  of  the  syna- 
gogue authorities  in  Damascus  in  prosecuting  there 
his  work  of  blood.  From  his  own  lips,  at  a  subsequent 
stage,  we  learn  that  this  demand  was  successful;  he 


Saul.  1 77 

went  to  Damascus  "  with  authority,"  and  not  as  an  ad- 
venturer on  his  own  account.  By  connivance  of  the 
Roman  governor,  the  Jewish  ecclesiastical  council  were 
permitted  within  certain  limits  to  rule  their  own  coun- 
trj-mcn  according  to  their  own  laws;  and  it  appears 
that  their  jurisdiction  extended  in  some  form  to  the 
persons  of  Jews  residing  in  foreign  cities. 

The  commission  granted  by  the  high  priest  bore 
"  that  if  he  found  any  of  this  way,"  he  should  bring 
them  bound  to  Jerusalem.  We  have  here  a  new  des- 
ignation of  the  Christian  faith.  It  is  called  the^  way, 
and  those  who  believe  it  are  said  to  be  of  the  ^vay. 
The  expression  in  the  same  sense  occurs  in  three  other 
places  of  the  Acts:  "  But  divers  spake  evil  of  the  way  " 
(xix.  9);  "  And  the  same  time  there  arose  no  small  stir 
about  the  way"  (xix.  23):  "Felix,  having  more  perfect 
knowledge  of  the  way"  (xxiv.  22).  From  a  compari- 
son of  these  passages  in  their  context  it  may  be  clearly 
seen  that  "the  way"  was  a  specific  designation  of  the 
Christian  system. 

Two  questions  spring  here:  Who  gave  the  Chris- 
tians that  name  }  and,  VVhy  was  it  given  t  I  think  it  is 
not  a  nickname  imposed  by  enemies,  but  a  significant 
designation  adopted  by  themselves.  It  may  indeed 
have  been  either  voluntarily  adopted  by  themselves, 
and  thereafter  employed  by  enemies  as  a  term  of  re- 
proach; or,  conversely,  employed  by  adversaries  as  a 
reproach,  and  ultimately  accepted  by  themselves. 

In  the  use  of  the  term  there  may  have  been  some- 
thing of  the  nature  of  a  cipher,  used  for  purposes  of 
concealment.  It  seems  not  improbable  that  the  early 
disciples,  remembering  the  words  of  the  Lord  Jesus, 
how  he  said,  "  I  am  the  way,  the  truth,  and  the  life," 
might  adopt,  as  their  distinguishing  title,  the  first  con- 
stituent of  that  blessed  trinity.  The  word  would  be 
very  precious  in  those  troubled  times.  Christ  was 
their  way  to  the  Father;  faith  in  him  was  their  way 
to  pardon  and  peace.  "The  way"  in  those  times  was 
their  path  across  the  wilderness,  and  their  entrance 
into  rest. 

*  The  meaning  is  partially  obscured  by  the  introduction  of  the  pronoun 
"this"  in  the  English  version.  In  the  margin  it  is  given  correctly— "  the 
way." 


1/8  The   Clmrch  in  the  House. 

The  term  "Methodist"  has  been  similarly  employed 
in  recent  British  history;  and  it  is  interesting  to  notice, 
although  the  English  terms  do  not  reveal  the  circum- 
stance, that  the  same  Greek  word  is  the  root  of  both 
epithets. 

Women  were  not  exempt:  when  and  where  have 
they  been  exempt,  when  persecution  for  Christ's  sake 
was  raging  ?  From  the  commission  given  to  Saul, 
empowering  him  to  drag  women  as  well  as  men  before 
the  Jewish  tribunals,  down  to  the  time  when  godly 
women  were  tied  to  stakes  in  the  rising  tide  of  the 
Solway  by  order  of  a  blood-thirsty  government,  the 
persecutor  has  always  succeeded  in  quenching  the  voice 
of  nature  in  his  own  breast.  He  spares  neither  age  nor 
sex.  From  the  beginning  women  have  followed  the 
Saviour  in  his  suffering,  and  suffered  for  his  sake. 

The  authorized  agent  was  charged  to  bring  the 
prisoners  to  Jerusalem  for  trial — such  trial  as  Stephen 
obtained  there — such  trial  as  the  Inquisition  accorded 
to  its  victims  in  the  dark  ages — such  trial  as  the  Pope 
and  the  Jesuits  would  give  us  to-day,  if  they  had 
power. 

"  And  as  he  journeyed,  he  came  near  Damascus: 
and  suddenly  there  shined  round  about  him  a  light 
from  heaven."  We  are  approaching  the  crisis  now. 
I  think  this  was,  and  was  intended  to  be,  the  most 
striking  and  important  individual  conversion  between 
Christ's  ascension  and  his  return  to  judge  the  world. 
In  its  results,  direct  and  indirect,  it  is  the  largest  sin- 
gle fruit  that  has  yet  been  gathered  from  the  tree  of 
righteousness  that  the  Lord  by  his  death  and  resur- 
rection planted  in  the  world. 

As  we  approach  the  turning-point — the  meeting- 
place,  we  stand  in  awe.  For  Christians  this  spot  is 
holy  ground.  Like  the  three  disciples  on  the  mount, 
we  fear  as  we  enter  the  cloud;  for  here  the  Redeemer 
is  transfigured,  and  displays  more  of  his  glory  than 
mortal  eye  may  easily  bear. 

From  a  comparison  of  this  narrative  with  the  ac- 
counts of  the  same  event  given  subsequently  by  Paul 
in  his  public  apologies,  it  results  that  while  his  com- 
panions heard  a  voice,  Saul  only  distinguished  the  ar- 
ticulate speech  of  a  person;  and  that  while  they  all  fell 


The   LonVs    Word- Consolation.  179 

to  the  earth  at  the  first  appearance  of  the  light,  the 
rest  of  the  company  soon  rose  to  their  feet  again,  while 
Saul  continued  prostrate  to  hear  the  word  of  the  Lord. 
All  the  conipan\'  beheld  the  light  with  which  the  risen 
Jesus  that  day  clothed  himself  as  with  a  garment;  but 
Saul  alone  saw  the  Divine  Person  who  wore  that  robe 
of  glory.  All  heard  a  sound;  but  he  alone  felt  the  word 
as  a  two-edged  sword  penetrating  his  joints  and  mar- 
row. Similar  distinctions  occur  in  our  day.  One  is 
taken,  and  another  left.  A  thousand  may  hear  the 
word  of  the  kingdom,  and  the  kingdom  come  in  power 
to  only  a  single  soul. 

Here  the  Lord  takes  unto  himself  his  mighty  power 
and  reigns.  He  subdues  and  leads  captive  the  greatest 
enemy  of  his  throne.  He  makes  openly  a  show  of  Jew- 
ish unbelief  in  the  person  of  its  chosen  champion,  and 
uses  the  captive  then  as  an  instrument  to  promote  his 
own  design.  The  Lord  had  need  of  human  energy 
and  genius  in  its  highest  measure — of  a  moral  power 
that  sweeps  all  lighter  things  before  it  in  whatever  di- 
rection it  may  move,  like  a  river  in  flood — of  Hebrew 
lore  and  Greek  culture  blended  together  in  one  capa- 
cious mind, — of  all  these  the  Lord  had  need  for  the 
work  of  the  kingdom;  and  sovereignly  he  seized  the 
vessel  which  contained  them  all  in  fullest  measure, 
that  he  might  employ  it  as  he  employed  the  ancient 
prophet,  "to  root  out  and  to  pull  down,  and  to  destroy 
and  to  throw  down,  to  build  and  to  plant"  (Jer.  i.  10). 


XL. 

THE   LORD'S   WORD-CONSOLATION. 

"  A/u/  he  fell  to  the  earth,  and  heard  a  voice  say  ng  unto  him,  Saul,  Satil, 
why  persecutest  thou  me  ?  " — Acts  I.x:.  4. 

It  was  near  Damascus;  it  was  at  mid-day;  there  was 
a  considerable  company;  great  publicity  was  given  to 
the  transaction;  every  circumstance  is  a  separate  wit- 


l8o  TJie   ChiircJi   in   the  House. 

ness  to  the  truth  of  the  narrative.  But  the  best  evi- 
dence of  the  fact  is  the  mighty  effect  that  followed.  By 
the  conversion  of  Paul  the  course  of  human  history  has 
been  diverted;  the  extant  result  bears  witness  of  the 
efficient  cause. 

A  circumfused  light  appeared  to  all  the  company; 
to  Saul  alone  the  glorified  Redeemer  articulately  ap- 
peared. All  heard  a  voice;  Saul  alone  heard  him,  the 
manifested  Man,  speaking  to  himself.  The  voice  said 
to  him,  "Saul,  Saul,  why  persecutest  thou  me  .? " 

It  is  not  very  long  since  these  words  were  spoken. 
A  succession  of  nineteen  men,  if  each  should  live  a  hun- 
dred years,  would  sufifice  to  span  the  space;  and  nine- 
teen men,  with  hands  outspread  and  touching  each 
other,  would  not  constitute  to  our  vision  a  very  long 
row.  It  is  less  than  two  thousand  years — in  God's  ac- 
count, less  than  two  days — since  the  Lord  Jesus  ut- 
tered these  words  to  check  the  career  of  a  persecutor, 
and  shield  his  suffering  little  ones.  It  may  not  be  very 
long  ere  that  voice  shall  speak  again,  so  that  every 
ear  shall  hear  it.  The  Lord  is  not  slack  concerning 
his  promise. 

We  are  now  suspended  between  the  first  and  second 
appearings  of  the  Lord.  It  is  but  a  little  time  since 
he  was  here — and  it  is  but  a  little  time  till  he  come 
again.  In  the  interval  he  abideth  near,  with  his  watch- 
ful eye  over  us,  and  his  everlasting  arms  underneath. 
His  ears  are  open  to  his  people's  cry,  and  his  heart  sen- 
sitive to  their  pains  and  fears.  "  Lo  !  I  am  with  }-ou 
always." 

This  word  of  the  Lord  Jesus  is  a  two-edged  sword. 
It  carries  comfort  to  those  who  are  within,  and  reproof 
to  those  who  are  without.  It  is  spoken  to  an  adver- 
sary; but  it  is  spoken  for  a  friend.  It  is  worthy  of  re- 
mark here  that  the  first  comfort  given  to  fallen  men 
was  conveyed  in  a  word  spoken  to  their  destroyer.  It 
was  in  a  rebuke  addressed  to  the  serpent  that  the  gos- 
pel was  first  preached  (Gen.  iii.  15).  After  the  same 
manner  was  Israel  comforted  in  times  of  trial;  the  word 
spoken  for  them  was  not  spoken  to  them:  "Touch  not 
mine  anointed,  and  do  my  prophets  no  harm."  From 
time  to  time  a  reproving  Avord  or  a  judgment-stroke 
was  sent  against  Pharaoh  or  the  King  of  Bab}-lon;  and 


The   Lord's    Word — Corisolation.  i8] 

this  was  God's  way  of  protecting  his  chosen  heritage. 
Here,  too,  the  Head  will  sustain  the  members,  by  a 
reproof  addressed  to  the  waster  of  the  Church. 

I  scarcely  know  a  more  comforting  word  than  this 
in  all  the  Bible.  Nowhere  else  is  the  oneness  of  Christ 
and  his  people  more  clearly  expressed.  The  speaker 
is  not  now  the  Man  of  Sorrows.  He  asserts  the  iden- 
tity of  himself  and  his  people,  after  all  power  in  heaven 
and  in  earth  has  been  placed  in  his  hands.  He  is  God 
over  all,  and  blessed  for  ever,  who  proclaims  here  to  the 
persecutor,  "  Inasmuch  as  you  have  done  it  unto  the 
least  of  these  my  brethren,  you  have  done  it  unto  me." 

As  you  experience  pain  w^ien  any  member  of  your 
body  is  hurt,  Christ,  the  Head  of  the  spiritual  body — 
the  Church  that  he  has  bought  with  his  blood — cries 
out  when  an  enemy's  hand  strikes  some  poor  saints  in 
Damascus.  So  when  Satan  desired  to  have  Peter,  that 
he  m.ight  sift  him  as  wheat,  and  drive  him  by  the  power 
of  temptation,  like  chaff  unto  the  fire,  the  Lord  himself 
felt  the  strain  in  his  own  breast,  and  interfered  to  shield 
his  frail  disciple.  The  life  that  is  "hid  with  Christ  in 
God  "  is  truly  a  charmed  life.  No  assassin's  weapon 
can  reach  it  in  its  hiding-place.  Although  the  pow- 
ers of  darkness  should  bind  themselves^  under  a  great 
oath  to  shroud  this  lower  world  in  perpetual  night, 
they  could  not  accomplish  their  purpose  unless  they 
had  power  to  pluck  the  sun  from  the  sky.  So  these 
powers  of  darkness  could  not  quench  the  light  of  life 
in  any  Christian,  unless  they  should  first  extinguish 
.he  Sun  of  righteousness. 

Nor  is  this  privilege  confined  to  those  who  are  emi- 
nent in  the  faith.  Safety  is  secured,  and  therefore  meas- 
ui  ed,  by  the  power,  not  of  the  saved,  but  of  the  Saviour. 
A  British  subject  is  found  on  the  territory  of  a  power- 
ful but  barbarian  king.  The  tyrant  casts  his  eye  on 
the  forlorn  stranger,  and  would  fain  take  away  his  lib- 
erty or  his  life.  But  the  power  of  the  Queen  overshad- 
ows him.  The  advisers  of  this  savage  chief  show  him 
that  if  he  touch  a  hair  of  that  stranger's  head  a  British 
ship  will  bombard  his  capital,  and  subvert  his  throne. 
The  man  is  safe;  but  his  safety  is  not  due  to  his  own 
strength  or  skill.  The  feeblest  woman,  or  the  tenderest 
child,  would  in  such  a  case  be  as  safe  as  the  most  stal- 


l82'  TJie   CJmrcJi  in  the  House. 

wart  soldier.  Safety  in  no  sense  and  in  no  measure  de- 
pends on  the  individual's  power,  but  on  the  power  of 
the  government  which  recognizes  him  as  its  subject. 
It  is  on  a  principle  somewhat  similar  that  the  safety 
of  disciples  is  insured.  Their  resource  is  not,  I  am 
strong;  but,  I  am  His — and  He  is  almighty. 

Why  persecutest  thou  me  .''  Saul  was  not  directing 
his  stroke  up  to  the  heavens;  he  pointed  not  his  spear  to 
Jesus'  side.  Our  goodness — our  badness,  Lord,  reach- 
eth  not  unto  thee.  How,  then.''  "Thou  persecutest 
me  " — "  of  whom  speaketh  the  prophet  this  .''  of  himself 
or  of  some  other  man  } "  Of  some  other  man,  some 
trembling  disciple  cowering  in  the  lanes  of  Damascus, 
and  dreading  lest  Saul  should  stone  him,  as  he  stoned 
Stephen,  for  being  a  disciple  of  Christ.  Of  this  man 
Christ  speaks;  but  speaks  of  him  as  a  part  of  himself — 
feels  as  we  feel  when  a  member  is  pierced.  The  prin- 
ciple was  abundantly  explained  by  the  Lord  in  the 
course  of  his  earthly  ministry. 

Let  Saul  venture  to  say.  Lord,  when  did  we  search 
thee  out  in  thy  humble  hiding-place,  and  drag  thee  be- 
fore the  judge,  and  witness  against  thee,  and  put  thee 
to  death  ?  The  King  shall  answer  him  from  his  throne, 
Inasmuch  as  ye  have  done  it  unto  the  least  of  these 
my  brethren,  ye  have  done  it  unto  me. 

Here  is  my  safety — that  he  counts  me  his;  and  not 
only  so,  but  has  made  me  part  of  himself,  so  that  a 
stroke  dealt  by  the  enemy  against  me  runs  up  and  pains 
him  on  his  throne. 

Who  shall  tell  how  many  dangers  have  been  thus 
averted  from  us,  when  we  did  not  know  or  think  of 
either  our  danger  or  our  deliverer  .''  I  suppose  some 
of  the  saints  in  and  near  Damascus  had  heard  of  the 
persecutor's  approach,  and  feared  him;  but  it  is  prob- 
able also  that  others  in  danger  by  his  approach  did 
not  know  that  he  was  near.  By  that  light-flash  which 
prostrated  Saul  without  the  gate,  these  persons  Vv'ere 
protected,  although  they  were  not  aware  either  of  the 
danger  or  the  deliverance. 

I  suppose  the  saved  when  they  reach  the  Father's 
house  will  have  occupation  for  their  leisure  in  number- 
ing up  all  God's  mercies;  and  perhaps  nothing  will  be 
sweeter  as  an  ingredient  of  their  joy  than  the  discoveries 


The  Lord's   Word — Rr proof.  183 

of  one  and  another  signal  rescue  that  Christ  achieved 
for  them,  while  they,  like  an  infant  sleeping-  in  a  burn- 
ing house,  were  aware  neither  of  the  llanie  that  was 
already  singeing  th(;ir  garments,  nor  of  the  strong  arm 
of  that  Brother  who  bore  them  beyond  its  reach.  Oh, 
that  will  be  joyful,  joyful  !  when  from  the  open  books 
we  shall  read  the  entries  of  many  fiery  darts  that  flew 
pointed  to  our  breast,  and  all  these  received  and  quenched 
on  the  interposed  shield  of  almighty,  unslumbering  love. 


XLI. 

THE  LORD'S   WORD-REPROOF. 

"  And  he  fell  to  the  earth,  and  heard  a  voice  saying  unto  Mm,  Saul,  Saul, 
why  persecutest  thou  me  f — ACTi  IX.  4. 

The  word  of  the  Lord  to  Saul  carried,  as  we  have  seen, 
great  consolation  to  disciples:  it  bears  also  a  terrible 
reproof  to  the  adversaries  of  the  gospel. 

Mark  well  here,  first  of  all,  that  although  Saul  is  an 
enemy  to  this  Jesus,  this  Jesus  is  not  an  enemy  to  Saul. 
This  word  is  not  spoken  to  cast  him  out,  but  to  melt 
him  down,  and  so  win  him  near.  "  My  thoughts  are 
not  as  your  thoughts."  "  Though  your  sins  be  as  scar- 
let, they  shall  be  as  snow."  It  is  written  of  Jesus,  in 
the  tim.e  of  his  humiliation,  that  when  he  was  reviled, 
he  reviled  not  again.  This  is  true  of  him  also  in  his 
glory.  He  draws  clear,  deep  distinction  between  the 
converted  and  the  unconverted;  but  the  distinction 
does  not  lie  in  that  the  converted  are  received  into 
favor,  while  the  unconverted  are  cast  away:  it  lies  i:i 
this — those  that  are  already  near  are  cherished  as  dear 
children,  and  the  distant  prodigals  are  invited  to  turn 
and  live.  He  does  indeed  divide  the  world  into  two: 
his  favor  compasses  about  his  own  people;  but  even 
his  enemies  he  does  not  consume  with  the  breath  of  his 
mouth.  Christ's  word  out  of  heaven  to  his  enemies 
i^  a  tender  entreaty  that  they  should  arise  and  go  to 
the  Father. 


184  TJie   Church   in   the  House. 

Nor  should  any  one  that  now  enjoys  peace  in  the 
Beloved  be  surprised  at  this  Divine  generosity.  It  is 
a  generosity  that  every  saved  sinner  has  himself  en- 
joyed. If  Christ  had  always  showQ  favor  to  his  friends, 
and  always  cast  his  persecutors  into  the  pit,  where 
would  you  and  I  have  been  to-day  .''  If,  when  we  were 
his  enemies,  he  melted  us  by  his  mercy  and  won  us 
over  to  himself,  we  need  not  wonder  to  find  that  he 
still  keeps  the  door  open  for  those  who  are  without. 

The  form  of  this  address,  in  the  first  place,  betrays 
the  tenderness  of  Jesus  before  we  reach  its  substance. 
There  is  a  peculiar  meaning  in  the  two-fold  repetition 
of  the  name.  This  formula  expresses  at  once  sharp 
condemnation  and  tender  pity.  When  you  intend  a 
simple  approval  or  a  simple  disapproval,  you  call  the 
name  only  once.  It  is  when  you  intend  both  to  con- 
demn and  to  win  back  that  you  duplicate  the  call. 
When  a  child  is  called  to  receive  either  a  reward  or  a 
punishment,  he  is  named  only  once;  but  when  you  in- 
tend first  to  reprove  him  for  his  fault,  and  then  to  invite 
him  to  favor,  you  name  him  twice.  John,  sounded  out 
singl}^,  may  be  the  prelude  either  to  praise  or  to  blame; 
but  John,  John,  always  means  both  that  he  is  doing 
evil,  and  that  you  mean  him  good.  You  may  find  ex- 
amples in  Scripture. 

John  XX.  16,  "Jesus  saith  unto  her,  Mary!" — all 
tenderness,  all  approval.  On  the  other  hand,  Luke 
X.  41,  42,  "  Martha,  Martha,"  at  once  rebukes  her  cum- 
bering care,  and  invites  her  to  sit  at  Jesus'  feet.  "Je- 
rusalem, Jerusalem,"  "Simon,  Simon,"  will  be  found, 
by  examination  of  the  context,  to  contain  a  stern  re- 
proof woven  in  with  a  tender  invitation.  In  Matt.  xvi. 
you  will  find  two  examples  of  a  single  call  both  simple: 
the  one  (verse  17)  simple  approval,  with  no  reproof; 
the  other,  addressed  to  Satan  possessing  Peter  (verse 
23),  simple  condemnation,  with  no  invitation  to  return. 
It  was  the  double  call  that  Jesus  uttered  that  day  in 
the  persecutor's  ears;  and  it  is  the  double  call  that  he 
addresses  to  the  wide  world  to-day.  At  the  winding 
up  of  the  world's  history,  when  the  day  of  grace  is 
done,  there  will  be  no  double  call.  The  call  is  single 
then — the  call  either  to  the  saved  or  to  the  lost. 
On  this  side,  Ye  cursed,  depart;  and  on  that  side,  Ye 


The  LoriVs    Word— Reproof.  1S5 

blessed,  come.  Saul,  Saul,  meant  both  that  Saul  was 
wicked,  and  Christ  was  merciful;  both  that  Saul  was 
hating  Christ,  and  Christ  was  pitying  Saul.  This  is 
the  t\'pe  of  call  that  the  risen  and  reigning  Jesus  is 
how  addressing  to  the  world.  He  names  a  sinner  once 
to  announce  the  condemnation  which  he  deserves;  he 
names  the  sinner  a  second  time,  to  intimate  that  in 
the  blood  of  the  Lamb  that  condemnation  may  be 
taken  away.  The  first  stroke  is  the  charge,  bringing 
guilt  home  to  the  guilty;  the  second  stroke  is  the 
discharge,  offered  without  money  and  without  price. 
Welcome  that  first  word  as  a  sharp  sword  to  penetrate 
the  conscience,  and  compel  you  to  exclaim  in  agony, 
"  Oh,  wretched  man  that  I  am,  who  shall  deliver  me 
from  the  body  of  this  death  } "  for  the  second  stroke 
will  quickly  follow,  manifesting  a  tender,  divine  com- 
passion which  will  cause  you  to  sing,  "  I  thank  God, 
through  Jesus  Christ  my  Lord."  Out  of  thy  mouth, 
glorified  Redeemer,  issues  a  sharp  two-edged  sword. 
Strike  me  with  it  once,  O  Lord,  that  I  may  cry,  What 
must  I  do  to  be  saved  .''  And  strike  again,  Lord,  that 
the  word  may  heal  the  wound  which  the  word  has 
made. 

In  Saul's  case,  the  redoubled  stroke  was  effectual. 
The  persecutor's  heart  was  very  hard,  and  yet  under 
the  repetition  it  yielded.  He  grieved  for  the  sin  that 
was  rebuked,  and  accepted  the  pardon  that  was  offered. 

Listen,  all  who  are  still  without;  who  are  not  living 
in  Christ,  but  beating  by  a  self-pleasing  will  against  him 
— listen  to  this  double  word.  Worldling,  worldling, 
why  neglectest  thou  mc  .-*  Hypocrite,  hypocrite,  why 
woundest  thou  me  .'* 

The  one  word  is  spoken  to  smite — the  Lord  is  an- 
gry: Melt,  stony  heart,  and  flow  down.  The  other 
word  is  spoken  to  heal  and  pardon:  Awake,  thou  that 
slccpest,  and  arise  from  the  dead,  and  Christ  shall  give 
thee  light. 

Return  now  to  the  main  lesson  of  this  text — conso- 
lation to  believers.  As  a  member  depends  for  life  and 
growth  on  its  union  with  the  living  body,  so  a  disciple 
depends  on  faith's  union  with  the  Head.  Remember 
the  words  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  how  he  said,  "  I  am  the 
vine,  \Q.  are  the  branches."     So  cldselv  is  the  life  of  a 


1 86  The   CJuircJi  in  the  House. 

Christian  entwined  round  the  life  of  Christ,  that  when 
an  enemy  smites  the  member,  the  Head  in  heaven 
cries  out.  One  inference  from  this  fact  is,  How  safe  a 
behever  is.  But  another  inference  is.  How  sober  a  be- 
liever should  be.  The  seal  set  upon  him  is  two-fold — ■ 
has  an  inscription  on  either  side.  If  the  legend  on  the 
upper  side  be,  "  The  Lord  knoweth  them  that  are  his," 
surely  the  legend  on  the  under  side  should  stand  out 
boldly  relieved,  so  that  he  may  run  who  reads  it,  "  Let 
every  one  that  nameth  the  name  of  Christ  depart  from 
iniquity"  (2  Tim.  ii.  19). 

The  Head  cries  when  the  member  is  hurt  by  foreign 
violence;  but,  oh,  the  Head  is  still  more  agonized  when 
the  member  suffers  from  internal  disease  !  The  tainted 
blood  of  the  member  circulates  upward  to  the  heart. 
Thus  the  vanity,  pride,  envy,  avarice,  impurity  of  a 
disciple,  hurt  the  heart  of  the  Holy  One.  If  we  have 
hope  that  our  life  is  hid  with  Christ  in  God,  there  is  no 
motive  so  strong  for  putting  away  all  that  defileth: 
"  Every  man  that  hath  this  hope  in  him  purifieth  him- 
self, even  as  he  is  pure"  (i  John  iii.  3). 

When  the  viper  fastened  on  Paul's  hand  he  shook  it 
off  into  the  fire.  I  think  he  did  not  shake  his  hand 
slowly  and  softly  on  that  occasion.  I  think  he  shook 
the  viper  off  his  flesh  with  a  shudder.  But  he  would 
not  cast  it  off  with  nervous  violence  merely  on  account 
of  the  wound,  not  more  than  skin-deep,  that  it  might 
possibly  make  on  his  hand.  In  such  a  case  it  is  not 
the  scratch  on  the  skin  that  we  think  about.  We  are 
aware  that  the  blood  tainted  in  the  member  passes  in 
a  few  moments  to  the  heart.  It  is  this  that  imparts  an 
awful  gravity  to  the  case. 

In  like  manner,  when  life  in  the  Lord  is  enjoyed  and 
realized,  the  heart  of  a  believer  shakes  off  sin  with 
eager  horror,  because  it  will  hurt  the  heart  of  Christ. 

There  is  a  skilfully  contrived  apparatus  by  the  use 
of  which  a  man  can  dive  to  the  bottom  of  the  sea;  can 
remain  there  long;  can  walk  about  and  search  for  lost 
treasure  within  the  hold  of  a  sunken  ship,  and  bring  it 
up  with  him  when  he  rises  to  the  surface  again.  The 
person  in  charge  above,  both  sends  down  the  breath 
of  life  to  the  diver  while  he  is  under  the  water,  and 
draws  him  up  out  of  the  water  when  his  work  is  done 


The  Enci)})'   Surrenders.  187 

Christians  in  this  life  arc  like  divers  busy  at  the  bot- 
tom of  the  sea.  They  are  not  only  in  the  sea — they 
are  beneath  it.  Many  waters  overflow  them,  but  these 
waters  cannot  quench  their  life;  for  a  mysterious  in- 
visible line  is  stretched  between  them  and  their  Re- 
deemer in  the  heavens.  He  sends  down  to  them  tlie 
breath  of  life,  so  that  though  the  waters  overflow  they 
cannot  drown  them;  and  when  they  have  seen  his  won- 
ders and  done  his  work  for  a  while  in  the  great  deep, 
— when  they  have  trodden  for  a  time  this  watery,  slimy 
wilderness,  and  gathered  treasures  there  for  him  who 
sent  them  down,  he  will  draw  them  out  of  the  waters. 
He  will  bring  them  into  a  large  place. 

When  time  is  done,  and  the  affairs  of  the  world  are 
wound  up,  he  will  gather  unto  himself  all  his  own. 
None  of  them  shall  be  lost,  for  he  must  be  full.  The 
command  will  go  forth,  North,  give  up;  South,  keep  not 
back;  Earth,  give  up  thy  dead;  and,  Sea,  surrender 
thine  !  If  the  earth  should  try  to  close  and  hold  fast 
any  of  his  little  ones,  the  cry  would  issue  from  the  throne, 
the  cry  of  this  same  Jesus:  "Grave,  grave,  why  bold- 
est thou  me.'"  On  that  day  he  will  do  all  his  pleasure; 
on  this  day,  blessed  are  all  they  that  are  found  in  him. 


XLH. 

THE  ENEMY  SURRENDERS. 

'■'■  Avd  he  said.  Who  art  thou.  Lord?  And  the  Lord  said,  L  am  ycsiis 
whom  thou  pcrsccutcst:  it  is  hard  for  thcc  to  kick  against  the  pricks.  And 
he  trembling  and  astonished  said.  Lord,  lohat  'loilt  thou  have  nie  to  do  ? 
And  the  Lord  said  iinto  him.  Arise,  and  go  into  the  city,  and  it  shall  be 
told  thee  what  thou  must  do,'^  etc. — Acts  ix.  5-14. 

Saul  was  immediately  and  fully  aware  that  he  had  a 
person  to  deal  with.  Whether,  in  the  first  moment  of 
his  terror,  all  that  Stephen  had  preached  of  Jesus  living 
and  reigning  flashed  into  his  memory,  we  do  not  know; 
but  it  is  probable  that  the  thought  of  Jesus,  whom 
Stephen  saw  at  his  dying  moment,  was  on  Saul's  mind 


1 88  TJie   Church  in   the  House. 

when  he  put  his  first  question,  "Who  art  thou,  Lord?" 
Jesus  condescends  to  answer  him,  for  he  knew  that  the 
persecutor  was  in  earnest  now:  "  I  am  Jesus  whom  thou 
persecutest."  In  this  expression  all  the  reproof  and 
consolation  contained  in  the  first  word  of  the  Lord  is 
repeated  and  is  redoubled. 

The  proverbial  expression  "kick  against  the  pricks," 
like  many  of  the  Lord's  sayings,  gives  a  whole  parable 
in  a  single  sentence.  Since  attention  has  been  paid  to 
Oriental  customs,  the  meaning  of  the  phrase  is  clearly 
and  easily  understood.  The  oxen,  while  under  the 
yoke,  were  goaded  by  a  long,  slender,  sharpened  rod. 
Irritated  by  the  puncture,  they  sometimes  kicked  against 
the  instrument  that  pained  them.  This,  of  course,  only 
lacerated  their  limbs  the  more.  The  parable  curtly  in- 
timates that  Saul  was  in  the  grasp  of  irresistible  power, 
and  that  it  would  be  wisdom  simply  to  submit. 

His  next  question  accordingly  indicates  implicit  sub- 
mission: "Lord,  what  wilt  thou  have  me  to  do.''"  He 
surrenders  at  discretion.  As  yet,  however,  his  knowl- 
edge is  very  dim.  It  has  often  been  remarked  that  he 
displays  the  character  of  a  novice  in  demanding  what 
he  should  do;  and  that  the  Lord,  through  Ananias,  sent 
him  a  message  more  in  accordance  with  the  cross  which 
he  was  called  to  bear:  "  I  will  show  him  how  great  things 
he  must  suffer  for  my  name's  sake." 

But  while,  for  great  purposes,  the  risen  Lord  person- 
ally meets  the  arch-enemy  in  order  to  subdue  him,  he 
does  not  in  person  undertake  the  disciple's  instruction. 
He  hands  him  over  to  the  ministry  of  man.  A  simple 
Christian  disciple,  not  otherwise  known,  becomes  the 
educator  of  the  great  apostle. 

While  Saul  lay  prostrate,  probably  his  eyes  were 
shut ;  it  was  when  he  rose,  and  endeavored  to  look  around, 
that  he  discovered  his  blindness.  When  he  opened  his 
eyes  he  saw  nothing.  They  led  him  by  the  hand,  and 
brought  him  to  Damascus. 

In  Damascus  he  remained  three  days  and  three 
nights,  and  neither  did  eat  nor  drink.  During  that 
time  three  main  channels  of  communication  with  earth 
were  cut  off;  he  saw  not,  he  ate  not,  he  drank  not. 
Isolated  from  earth,  he  enters  into  communication  with 
Heaven;  for,  "behold,  he  prays."     The  Spirit  possesses 


The  Enemy   Surrenders.  1 89 

him.  Hungry,  thirsty,  blind,  he  comes  to  God  for  food, 
drink,  sight.  Nothing  from  the  world  now;  all  from 
Christ.  This  vessel  has  now  been  emptied,  and  will 
soon  be  filled  again.  Emptied  of  all  below,  he  will  be 
filled,  through  the  channel  of  prayer,  from  the  treas- 
ures that  are  at  God's  right  hand;  emptied  of  himself, 
and  filled  with  Christ.  Thus,  in  conversion  gener- 
ally, by  means  more  gentle  or  more  violent,  a  soul  is 
severed  for  a  time  from  its  relations  to  earth,  that  so 
it  may  have  leisure  and  freedom  to  transact  with  God 
for  eternity.  The  new  birth  is  sometimes  more  and 
sometimes  less  prolonged,  with  more  or  less  of  agony. 

At  some  points  the  experiences  of  Saul  and  the  Ethi- 
opian are  parallel,  and  at  some  in  contrast.  These 
two  journeys  may  be  compared  with  profit.  The  Ethi- 
opian a  Gentile,  Saul  a  Jew.  The  Gentile  journeyed 
toward  Jerusalem  to  seek  Christ;  the  Jew  journeyed 
from  Jerusalem  to  persecute  Christians.  In  the  one 
case  the  Scripture  exemplified  is,  "  Seek,  and  ye  shall 
find;"  in  the  other,  "I  am  found  of  them  who  sought 
me  not."  The  Lord  on  high  looked  sovereignly  and 
mercifully  down  on  both  travellers.  He  gave  the  one 
what  he  sought,  and  the  other  what  he  sought  not. 
Both  were  blessed,  and  in  the  end  both  receivers  lived 
to  the  Giver's  praise. 

I  have  already  thrown  out  the  suggestion  that  if 
Saul  and  Stephen  should  meet  in  heaven,  they  might 
with  profit  compare  notes  of  their  several  experiences. 
The  meeting  of  Saul  and  the  Ethiopian  would  be 
equally  interesting.  When  the  secrets  of  all  hearts 
shall  be  revealed,  it  will  be  found  that  the  devout  and 
humble  inquirer  will  get  no  more  glory  than  the  proud 
and  cruel  blasphemer.  It  will  be  found  that  both  were 
made  willing  by  the  same  power.  There  were  indeed 
diversities  of  operation;  but  the  Worker  was  one.  This 
man  was  won  by  a  secret  distilling  of  the  Spirit,  like 
dew  from  heaven,  upon  his  heart;  that  inan  w^as  sub- 
dued by  a  sudden  stroke  of  omnipotence:  but  both 
alike  will  ascribe  all  to  the  grace  of  their  Redeemer. 

After  three  days  of  blindness  and  fasting — three 
days  spent,  probably,  in  a  great  conflict  between  con- 
science and  the  Divine  law — the  fastenings  of  a  stony 
heart  at  length  gave  v/ay,  and  the  penitent  melted  into 


1 90  The  Church  in  the  Hotise. 

prayer.  Now  that  the  wound  has  gone  deep  enough, 
a  healing  ministry  will  be  sent.  Go  to  him,  Ananias; 
for,  "behold,  he  prayeth."  Now  that  the  branch  is 
let  into  the  vine,  it  is  Christ  in  one  of  his  members 
who  is  hungry  and  blind,  and  weeping  there.  The 
Lord  in  heaven  changes  his  voice  now:  "Ananias, 
leave  not  Me  any  longer  in  darkness  and  want  in  the 
house  of  Judas,  in  the  street  that  is  called  Straight." 

The  conflict  that  raged  during  those  three  days  in 
the  stricken  persecutor's  breast,  has  been  in  part  re- 
corded for  our  instruction.  The  self-dissection  con- 
tained in  Rom.  vii.  must  have  had  a  great  deal  to  do 
with  the  three  days  of  agony  in  Damascus. 

Although  certified  that  Saul  was  praying,  Ananias 
did  not  immediately  feel  at  ease  in  the  prospect  of 
meeting  him.  The  lion  is  now  ready  to  lie  down  with 
the  kid,  but  the  kid  naturally  starts  back  at  first  sight 
of  that  dreaded  beast  of  prey. 

Another  new  name  occurs  here  first  as  applied  to  the 
disciples  of  Christ — Ananias  calls  them  "thy  saints." 
He  must  have  known  that  they  deserved  that  name, 
otherwise  he  would  not  have  ventured  to  apply  it  to 
them  in  speaking  to  the  Searcher  of  hearts. 

This  last  name  has  borne  a  great  part  in  history. 
It  was  at  first  a  true  designation.  The  name  sprang 
up  naturally  from  a  root  of  fact.  These  men  were  sep- 
arated from  the  vanity  and  the  wickedness  of  the  world. 
They  had  a  home  on  high,  and  they  did  not  lay  up 
treasures  on  earth.  They  walked  with  God,  and  did  not 
lie  to  men.  They  expected  to  stand  at  the  judgment- 
seat  of  Christ,  and  did  not  overreach  their  neighbors 
in  business.  They  had  been  themselves  bought  with 
a  price,  and  owed  all  to  forgiving  love;  therefore  they 
were  ready  to  forgive  even  unto  seventy  times  seven 
provocations. 

But  in  process  of  time  the  word  was  turned  aside 
from  its  true  meaning,  and  applied  to  those  whom  the 
hierarchy  of  Rome  delighted  to  honor.  Some  very 
good  men,  and  some  very  bad  men,  have  obtained  at 
different  times  that  Divinity  degree  from  the  Pope  and 
his  council.  It  is  now  an  expensive  and  worthless  form. 
As  a  natural  consequence  of  the  misuse  of  the  name  in 
what  was  called  the  Church,  the  world  outside  has  in 


The   Vessel  Chosen  and  Charged.  191 


• 


modern  times  turned  it  into  a  term  of  reproach.  It  is 
\'er}'  often  emplo}'cd  as  a  sneer.  But,  although  a  false 
pretence  to  saintship  deserves  all  the  mockery  it  gets, 
it  remains  that  there  is  such  a  thing  as  holiness  (com- 
parative) not  in  heaven  only,  but  also  here  on  earth. 
Through  the  grace  of  God,  and  by  the  ministry  of  the 
Spirit,  a  real  holiness  is  wrought  in  the  heart  and  life 
of  Christians.  It  is  their  part  to  strive  after  more. 
What  a  noble  aim  is  set  before  us  !  to  fill  up  this 
character  with  substantial  purity  and  truth,  so  wrench- 
ing the  weapon  from  the  scorner's  hand. 


XLIII. 

THE    VESSEL   CHOSEN  AND   CHARGED. 

"  But  the  Lord  said  tinlo  him.  Go  thy  lody:  for  he  is  a  i  ho  sen  vessel 
unto  me,  to  bear  my  mime  before  the  Gentiles,  and  kings,  and  the  children 
of  Israel." — ACTS  ix.  15. 

We  shall  best  explain  and  apply  the  text  by  examin- 
ing its  terms  in  succession,  one  by  one. 

I.  A  vessel. — The  term  signifies  the  implement  by 
which  any  work  is  done,  or  the  dish  in  which  anything 
is  held.  It  is  an  instrument  constructed  and  fitted  for 
use  in  any  species  of  operation. 

All  the  world  is  the  field  whereon  God  works,  and 
it  is  full  of  the  instruments  which  he  employs.  Every 
flower,  every  leaf,  every  tendril  is  a  cunningly  contrived 
instrument,  designed  and  fitted  for  carrying  on  some 
delicate  process  in  the  vegetable  economy.  In  ani- 
mals, every  member  of  the  body  is  a  tool  with  which 
the  creature, — with  which  the  great  Creator — works. 
The  eye,  the  ear,  the  tongue,  the  foot,  and  a  thousand 
other  exquisite  instruments,  hang  at  hand  in  the  work- 
shop, ready  for  the  worker's  use. 

Each  separate  part  of  creation,  again,  is  an  instru- 
ment in  God's  hands  for  carrying  his  plans  into  effect. 
The  internal  fires  of  the  globe  are  his  instruments  for 


192  The   CJiiirch  in   the  House. 


* 


heaving  up  the  mountain  ridges,  and  causing  the  inter- 
vening valleys  to  subside.  The  clouds  are  vessels  em- 
ployed in  carrying  water  from  its  great  reservoir  in  the 
ocean  to  every  portion  of  the  thirsty  land.  The  rivers 
are  waste-pipes  for  carrying  back  the  soiled  water  that 
it  may  be  purified  for  subsequent  use.  The  sun  is  an 
instrument  for  lighting  and  warming  a  troop  of  revolv- 
ing worlds;  and  the  earth's  huge  bulk  a  curtain  for 
screening  off  the  sunlight  at  stated  intervals,  and  so 
affording  to  weary  workers  a  grateful  night  of  rest. 
Chief  of  all  the  implements  provided  and  employed 
on  earth  is  man — made  last,  made  best  for  his  Author's 
service;  broken,  disfigured,  and  defiled  by  sin,  but  ca- 
pable of  working  wondrously  yet,  when  redeemed,  and 
restored,  and  employed  again. 

God  has  not  cast  away  the  best  of  all  his  instru- 
ments because  it  was  marred  and  polluted.  He  has 
conceived  and  executed  a  costly  plan  for  redeeming 
and  renewing  it.  He  spared  not  his  own  Son,  that  he 
might  have  from  this  fallen  family  a  multitude  of  ves- 
sels full  of  his  love — a  multitude  of  fitting  instrum.ents 
employed  in  his  service.  A  soul  won  is  the  best  instru- 
ment for  winning  souls. 

2.  A  chosen  vessel. — This  man,  who  was  raised  from 
the  ground  by  his  companions  and  lead  blind  into  Da- 
mascus, is  the  vessel  whom  the  Lord  has  sovereignly 
chosen,  and  will  graciously  employ. 

"  The  eyes  of  the  Lord  are  in  every  place."  "  Known 
unto  God  are  all  his  works."  Compassing  him  about 
in  all  his  ways,  God  felt  every  throb  of  impotent  anger 
that  was  beating  in  the  persecutor's  heart.  Although 
the  vessel  was  marred  and  occupied  with  evil,  its  Maker 
counted  it  still  his  own.  He  can  employ  the  evil  as  his 
unconscious  instruments,  or  make  them  willing  in  the 
day  of  his  power.  When  he  had  chastised  backsliding 
Israel  by  the  King  of  Babylon,  he  broke  the  rod  and 
threw  it  away.  In  other  cases  he  turns  the  king's  heart 
as  a  river  of  water,  and  then  accepts  the  willing  hom- 
age of  a  converted  man. 

It  was  a  polished  and  capacious  vessel  that  the 
Great  King  wrenched  from  the  hands  of  the  arch-enemy 
near  the  gate  of  Damascus.  One  of  the  clearest  intel- 
lects that  ever  glowed  in  a  human  frame  changed  hands 


TJic   Vessel  Chosen  and  Charged.  193 

that  day.  Saul  was  a  man  of  rare  courage.  He  was 
a  good  soldier  of  the  wicked  one  before  he  owned  al- 
legiance to  Christ.  He  did  what  he  said.  The  pur- 
poses which  his  heart  devised  his  hand  executed.  "I 
verily  thought  I  ought  to  do  many  things  against  the 
name  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  which  thing  I  also  did." 
The  vessel  was  capacious,  and  the  capacious  vessel  was 
full.  All  the  learning  of  the  time  had  been  poured  in- 
to it.  The  traditions  of  the  Jews  and  the  philosophy 
of  the  Greeks  lay  and  seethed  together  in  that  roomy 
and  restless  brain.  Not  only  was  his  head  full  of  no- 
tions; his  heart  was  fired  with  a  resolute  purpose,  and 
his  arm  was  nerved  by  a  dauntless  will.  He  was  Christ's 
chief  enemy  then  in  the  world.  He  breathed  forth 
threatenings  and  slaughter  against  the  members  of 
the  Church,  blasphemies  against  its  living  Head.  God 
looks  down  from  heaven  on  this  man,  not  as  an  adver- 
sary whose  assaults  are  formidable,  but  as  an  instru- 
ment which  may  be  turned  to  another  use.  As  clay 
in  the  hands  of  the  potter  this  man  lies.  The  vessel 
may  be  broken  in  anger,  or  employed  in  labors  of  love, 
as  the  Maker  wills.  Arrested  at  the  crisis  of  its  course 
by  a  hand  unseen,  it  is  turned  upside  down,  emptied  of 
its  accumulated  filth,  purged  from  all  its  dross,  filled 
from  heaven's  pure  treasures,  and  used  to  water  the 
world  with  the  word  of  life.  Under  God's  eye  and  in 
God's  hand,  this  man  is  not  a  formidable  antagonist, 
but  simply  a  vessel  to  be  broken  in  judgment,  or  puri- 
fied for  use  on  earth  and  in  heaven. 

Saul  of  Tarsus,  called  to  be  an  apostle,  is  a  conspic- 
uous example  of  Divine  sovereignty.  He  did  not  first 
choose  Christ,  but  Christ  chose  him.  He  was  in  the 
way  of  evil  when  the  Lord  met  him  with  subduing, 
forgiving,  renewing  mercy.  When  human  pride  is  at 
last  silenced  by  the  sense  of  redeeming  love,  it  is  sweet 
to  feel  and  own  that  Jesus  is  at  once  tlie  author  and  the 
finisher  of  our  faith — "the  beginning  of  the  creation  of 
God"  within  renewed  human  hearts  on  earth,  and  the 
ending  thereof  when  the  spirits  of  the  just  are  made 
perfect  in  his  presence.  Christ  is  first  and  last — all  in 
all.  I  recognize  God's  command  to  me,  that  I  should 
turn  and  live;  I  recognize  my  duty  to  close  with  his  offer; 
I  recognize  the  justice  of  my  condemnation  if  I  refuse 


194  TJie   CJiurcJi  in  the  House. 

to  comply.  God  bids  me  believe  and  live:  I  ought  to 
obey;  but  if  I  obey  and  be  saved  like  Paul,  like  him  I 
shall  say  and  sing",  as  the  history  of  my  redemption, 
When  I  was  wandering  helpless  further  and  further 
towards  death,  the  Good  Shepherd  followed  and  found 
me,  turned  me  round,  and  bore  me  back  to  his  fold. 

3.  A  vessel  ttnto  me. — Two  things  lie  in  the  conver- 
sion of  Paul  and  in  every  conversion:  the  man  gets  an 
Almighty  Saviour,  and  God  gets  a  willing  servant.  The 
true  instinct  of  the  new  creature  burst  forth  from  Paul's 
breast  as  soon  as  he  knew  his  Saviour,  and  before  he 
was  lifted  from  the  ground, — "Lord,  what  wilt  thou 
have  me  to  do.-*"  The  answer,  sent  through  Ananias 
in  Damascus,  after  the  tumult  had  subsided,  indicated 
to  the  convert  what  he  should  be,  rather  than  what  he 
should  do:  "He  is  a  chosen  vessel  unto  me."  We  get 
a  glimpse  here  of  the  two  tendencies,  the  human  and 
the  Divine.  I  shall  do,  says  the  disciple  in  the  ardor 
of  a  first  love;  Thou  shalt  be,  answers  that  wise  and 
kind  Master,  who  knows  that  the  spirit  in  the  disciple 
is  willing,  but  the  flesh  weak.  To  be  like  Christ  is  the 
most  effectual  way  of  working  for  Christ.  I  shall  bear 
the  vessels  of  the  Lord,  volunteers  the  ransomed  sinner, 
when  he  feels  that  he  is  not  his  own,  but  bought  with  a 
price;  the  reply  to  this  offer  requires  a  less  positive,  more 
passive,  and  yet  greater  thing:  Thou  shalt  be  the  vessel 
of  the  Lord.  It  is  a  great  thing  that  I  should  take  up 
instruments,  and  do  a  work  for  Christ  in  the  world;  but 
it  is  a  greater  that  Christ  should  take  me  in  his  hand, 
and  work  out  his  purposes  with  me.  "A  people  near 
unto  him, "is  an  ancient  appellation  of  the  saved.  Surely 
they  are  near  him  who  are  held  as  a  vessel  in  his  hand. 
This  is  our  security  alike  for  safety  and  usefulness.  The 
star  that  is  in  his  right  hand  is  held  up  so  that  it  cannot 
fall,  and  held  out  so  that  it  shines  afar.  When  he 
chooses  a  vessel  he  uses  it;  he  neither  keeps  it  idle  nor 
casts  it  away. 


TJie    Vessel  Employed.  195 

XLIV. 

THE   VESSEL  EMPLOYED. 

'■'■But  the  Lord  said  iiiUo  him.  Go  thy  way:  for  he  is  a  chosen  vessel 
unto  tne,  to  bear  jny  name  before  the  Gentiles,  and  kings,  and  the  children 
of  Israel." — Acts  ix.  15. 

4.  A  VESSEL  to  dear  my  name. — The  text  tells  not  only 
what  he  is  and  whose  he  is,  but  also  and  specifically  to 
what  uses  he  will  be  applied.  He  was  a  vessel  firmly 
put  together,  and  filled  to  overflowing',  before  Jesus  met 
him  in  the  way.  At  that  meeting  he  was  emptied  of 
his  miscellaneous  vanities,  and  filled  with  the  name  of 
Christ.  See  an  account  of  the  whole  process  by  his 
own  pen:  "If  any  other  man  thinke^h  that  he  hath 
whereof  he  might  trust  in  the  flesh,  I  more:  circumcised 
the  eighth  day,  of  the  stock  of  Israel,  of  the  tribe  of 
Benjamin,  a  Hebrew  of  the  Hebrews;  as  touching  the 
law,  a  Pharisee;  concerning  zeal,  persecuting  the  church; 
touching  the  righteousness  which  is  in  the  law,  blame- 
less. But  what  things  were  gain  to  me,  those  I  counted 
loss  for  Christ.  Yea  doubtless,  and  I  count  all  things 
but  loss  for  the  excellency  of  the  knowledge  of  Christ 
Jesus  my  Lord:  for  whom  I  have  suffered  the  loss  of  all 
things,  and  do  count  them  but  dung,  that  I  may  win 
Christ"  (Phil.  iii.  4-8). 

The  whole  stock-in-trade  of  the  self-righteous  Phar- 
isee is  inventoried  here.  Himself  delights  to  display 
the  filthy  rags,  and  make  a  show  of  them  openly.  He 
appropriates  the  shame  to  himself,  that  the  glory  may 
rise  to  his  Lord.  \\q  recounts  how  these  were  cast 
out  at  the  great  change,  and  counted  no  longer  gain, 
but  loss.  When  these  are  cast  out,  however,  he  does 
not  remain  empty.  No  man  ever  yet  did  cast  out  his 
own  self-righteousness  from  mere  dislike  of  it.  As  the 
money-changers  were  driven  from  the  Temple  only  at 
and  by  the  entrance  of  Jesus,  so  the  false  confidences 
maintain  their  ground  in  a  human  heart  until  they  arc 
displaced  by  the  presence  of  the  Lord  our  Righteous- 
ness.    All  these  carefully  gathered,  tenderly  cherished 


196  The  Church  in  the  House. 

stores,  he  now  counts  loss;  but  it  is  for  Christ.  He 
counted  them  precious  as  long  as  he  knew  none  other. 
He  never  proposed  to  sell  off  all  that  he  had,  or  any- 
thing that  he  had,  until  he  fell  in  with  the  pearl  of  great 
price.  The  old  adage  is  true  in  fact  although  defec- 
tive in  philosophy:  Nature  abhors  a  vacuum;  and  in 
nature,  whether  its  material  or  spiritual  department, 
a  vacuum  is  never  found.  Each  man  is  full  either  of 
his  own  things  or  of  Christ's. 

The  name  of  Christ  is  the  precious  thing  wherewith 
the  vessel  is  charged.  So  full  was  Paul  of  this  treasure, 
that  he  determined  in  his  ministry  to  know  none  other. 
Whether  the  apostle  be  considered  for  the  moment  a 
vessel  for  bearing  seed,  or  one  for  bearing  water,  the 
result  is  the  same.  It  is  of  the  things  of  Christ  that 
the  ministering  Spirit  takes  and  gives  to  the  disciples, 
that  they  may  drop  the  seed  into  broken  hearts,  or 
offer  cold  water  to  thirsty  souls.  There  is  none  other 
name  given  under  heaven  among  men  whereby  we 
must  be  saved. 

5.  To  bear  my  name  before  Gentiles,  and  kings,  and 
the  people  of  Israel. — The  name  of  Christ  is  the  treas- 
ure which  the  vessel  bears;  to  the  Gentiles,  and  kings, 
and  the  people  of  Israel  the  vessel  bears  it.  This  bread 
of  life,  like  the  manna  which  fell  in  the  wilderness,  is 
given  to  be  used,  not  to  be  hoarded.  To  be  ever  get- 
ting, ever  giving,  is  the  only  way  of  keeping  both  the 
vessel  and  its  treasure  sweet.  The  more  you  give  to 
others,  the  more  you  enjoy  for  your  own  use.  The 
twelve  had  a  fuller  meal  in  that  desert  place,  after  they 
had  distributed  the  bread  among  five  thousand,  than 
they  would  have  had  if  they  had  dined  alone.  Christ 
is  with  his  people  still,  to  bless  and  multiply  the  por- 
tion of  every  cheerful  giver. 

Certain  classes  are  enumerated  before  whom  Paul 
should  be  a  witness  for  Christ.  Before,  or,  more  liter- 
ally, "in  the  face  of"  these,  this  vessel  must  bear  that 
precious  name.  The  form  of  the  expression  indicates 
that  in  this  ministry  self-denying  courage  is  required. 
Perhaps  the  series,  in  this  respect,  constitutes  a  climax. 
It  is  easier  to  speak  of  Christ  and  his  salvation  to  the 
Gentiles  than  to  kings,  and  easier  to  speak  of  him  to 
kings  than  to  his  own  chosen  people.     Israel's  enmity 


Tlic    Vessel  Employed.  197 

against  the  Lord's  Anointed  was  keener  than  that  of 
the  surrounding^  nations.  He  came  unto  his  own,  and 
his  own  received  him  not;  but  to  some,  even  of  these, 
he  gave  power  to  become  the  sons  of  God.  Paul  him- 
self was  one  of  the  first-fruits  of  the  seed  of  Abraham, 
and  a  harvest  has  been  gathered  since.  To  this  day, 
however,  the  nation  in  its  main  bulk  remains  more  ob- 
stinate than  the  heathen  in  refusing  to  have  this  Man 
to  reign  over  them. 

In  our  day,  too,  there  are  various  classes  and  char- 
acters of  men  who  need  the  testimony  of  Jesus.  Those 
who  possess  it  should  be  prepared  to  bear  it  about  in 
every  place,  and  hold  it  forth  in  any  company.  This 
witness  in  his  day  was  not  ashamed  of  the  gospel  of 
Christ:  would  that  all  our  Christianity  were  as  honest 
and  as  strong  !  If  we  quail  where  the  majority  profess 
to  be  on  our  side,  what  would  have  become  of  us  if  our 
lot  had  been  cast  in  the  beginning  of  the  gospel,  when 
its  disciples  were  obliged  to  confront  an  adverse  world  } 
May  the  Lord  increase  our  faith,  and  increase,  too, 
that  which  hangs  next  beneath  it  in  Peter's  golden 
chain  of  graces — the  courage  to  confess  our  Saviour  be- 
fore friend  and  foe. 

But,  perhaps,  we  should  not  speak  of  more  courage 
being  required  to  maintain  a  good  confession  in  one 
place,  and  less  in  another;  for  with  God  it  is  as  easy  to 
keep  the  ocean  within  its  bed,  as  to  balance  a  dew-drop 
on  a  blade  of  grass;  and  the  same  principle  rules  in  the 
distribution  of  grace  to  disciples  of  Christ.  Without  it, 
the  strongest  is  not  sufficient  for  anything;  with  it,  the 
feeblest  is  sufficient  for  all.  Our  martyr  forefathers, 
who.  by  the  peace  of  God  ruling  in  their  hearts,  were 
enabled  to  make  a  good  confession  at  tlie  stake,  would, 
if  left  to  themselves,  have  denied  their  Lord  under  the 
blandishments  of  a  godless  drawing-room.  To  the  eye 
of  sense,  the  faithfulness  of  this  generation  is  not  tested 
by  so  severe  a  strain;  but  the  difference  lies  mainly  in 
the  outward  appearance.  The  human  heart  is  still  as 
deceitful,  and  the  god  of  this  world  still  as  powerful,  as 
in  the  days  of  old.  In  our  own  strength  we  cannot 
overcome  the  least  temptation;  through  Christ  that 
strengtheneth  us  we  can  conquer  the  greatest. 

Not  before  Gentiles,  and  kings,  and  the  people  of 


£98  TJie   CJinrcJi   in   the  House. 

Israel,  are  we  summoned  to  bear  witness  for  Christ ; 
but  we  stand  daily  in  a  place  and  presence  where  the 
temptation  to  deny  him  is  equally  strong.  A  Christian 
young  man  in  a  great  workshop,  a  Christian  young  lady 
in  a  gay  and  fashionable  family,  is  either  carried  away 
like  chaff  before  the  wind,  or  stands  fast  by  a  modern 
miracle  of  grace. 

We  are  so  many  vessels,  labelled  on  the  outside  with 
the  name  of  Christ;  what  we  are  really  charged  with 
may  not  be  seen  at  a  distance  or  discovered  in  a  day. 
Those,  however,  who  stand  near  these  vessels  often  or 
long,  will  by  degrees  find  out  what  they  contain.  By 
its  occasional  overflowings,  especially  when  it  is  unex- 
pectedly and  violently  shaken,  the  secret  will  be  re- 
vealed. Some  are  looking  on  who  do  not  believe  that 
the  Spirit  which  fills  us  is  the  Spirit  of  Christ;  and  they 
lie  in  wait  for  evidence  to  prove  their  opinion  true. 
For  their  own  sakes  let  them  find  it  false.  Before  them 
bear  the  name  of  Christ,  when  needful,  on  your  lips,  the 
Spirit  of  Christ  in  your  heart,  the  example  of  Christ  in 
your  conduct. 

But  the  word  which  requires  that  we  should  be  wit- 
nesses unto  Christ  is  peculiarly  apt  to  slip  from  our 
grasp,  especially  when  the  specimen  exhibited  is  some 
eminent  saint.  An  indolent,  earthly  selfishness,  under 
pretence  of  humility,  like  Satan  in  an  angel's  dress, 
cunningly  suggests  the  distinction  between  a  common 
ungifted  man  and  the  great  apostle  of  the  Gentiles. 
He  was  a  worthy  witness;  but  what  could  we  do,  al- 
though we  did  our  best  }  If  you  are  a  sinner  forgiven 
through  the  blood  of  Christ,  in  the  greatest  things  Paul 
and  you  are  equal;  unequal  only  in  the  least.  In  the 
things  that  reach  up  to  heaven  and  through  eternity, 
there  is  no  perceptible  difference;  the  distinction  is  con- 
fined to  the  earth  and  time.  You,  a  lost  sinner,  get 
pardon  and  eternal  life  in  God's  dear  Son;  and  what 
does  he  get  more  }  Getting  as  much  from  your  Lord, 
you  may  love  your  Lord  as  much.  In  the  economy  of 
grace,  a  shallower  vessel  serves  nearly  every  purpose 
as  well  as  a  deeper,  if  both  are  full  of  Christ. 

In  nature,  the  shallowest  lake,  provided  it  be  full, 
sends  up  as  many  clouds  to  heaven  as  the  deepest,  for 
the  same  sunlight  beams  equally  on  both  their  bosoms 


TJw   Lord  RcignetJi.  199 

This  law  may  often  be  seen  at  work  in  the  spiritual 
kingdom.  "Glory  to  God  in  the  highest"  rises  in  a 
stream  as  strong  and  pure  from  a  sinner  saved  who 
lays  out  one  talent  in  a  lowly  sphere,  as  from  a  sinner 
saved  who  wields  ten  talents  in  the  sight  of  an  ap- 
plauding world.  Nay,  more;  as  a  lake  within  the 
tropics,  though  shallow,  gives  more  incense  to  the 
sky  than  a  polar  ocean  of  unfathomable  depth,  so  a 
Christian  of  few  gifts,  whose  heart  lies  open  fair  and 
long  to  the  Sun  of  righteousness,  is  a  more  effectual 
witness  than  a  man  of  greater  capacity  who  lies  not 
so  near,  and  looks  not  so  constantly  to  Jesus. 


XLV. 

THE  LORD  REIGNETH. 

"  But  the  Lord  said  tinto  him.  Go  thy  way:  for  he  is  a  chosen  vessel 
Uftto  me,  to  bear  my  name  before  the  Gentiles,  and  hings,  and  the  children  - 
of  Israel."— Acr^  IX.  15. 

In  the  coarser  work  of  breaking  up  his  own  way  at 
first,  God  freely  uses  the  powers  of  nature  and  the 
passions  of  wicked  men;  but  for  the  nicer  touches  near 
the  finishing,  he  employs  more  sensitive  instruments. 
A  work  of  righteousness  is  about  to  be  done  upon-  the 
person  of  a  Greek  jailer  at  Philippi.  Mark  the  method 
of  the  omniscient  Worker.  A  strong  coarse  tool  he 
seizes  first,  and  therewith  strikes  the  hard  material,  with 
the  view  of  carrying  it  through  a  certain  preparatory 
stage;  then  with  an  instrument  of  more  ethereal  tem- 
per and  keener  edge,  which  he  had  previously  placed 
within  reach,  he  completes  the  process.  The  earth- 
quake, which  shook  the  foundations  of  the  prison,  rent 
the  outer  searing  of  the  jailer's  conscience,  and  made 
an  open  path  into  his  soul.  In  such  work  the  powers 
of  nature  could  no  further  go.  What  an  earthquake 
could  not  do.  God  did  by  a  renewed  human  heart,  and 
gentle,   loving   human    lips.     From   the   same   chosen 


200  Tlie   Chnrch  in   the  House. 

vessel  that  Ananias  had  visited  at  Damascus,  the  oint- 
ment was  poured  forth  which  healed  the  jailer's  wound. 
"  Believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  thou  shalt  be 
saved,"  said  Paul:  the  rude  heathen  believed  and  lived. 

Thus  God  works  to-day,  both  in  secret  individ- 
ual conversions  and  in  wide-spread  national  revivals. 
Bankruptcies,  storms,  diseases,  wars,  are  charged  to 
batter  down  the  defences,  and  then  living  disciples  go 
in  by  the  breach  to  convert  a  kingdom  or  win  a  soul. 
Missionaries  seldom  begin  the  work,  and  providences 
never  complete  it.  *  Each  kind  of  instrument  is  best 
in  its  own  place  and  time.  Do  not  go  forward  with- 
out providential  openings,  lest  you  should  spend  your 
strength  for  nought;  and  do  not  neglect  providential 
openings,  lest  the  lost  opportunity  should  never  return. 

The  inanimate  machinery  of  war,  more  powerful 
now  than  in  any  former  generation,  may  suffice  to 
break  down  the  walls  of  the  enemy's  stronghold;  but 
these  engines  that  pioneer  so  powerfully  cannot  capture 
the  fortress;  loyal,  living  men  must  enter  and  take 
possession  in  their  sovereign's  name.  This  order  is 
adopted  in  the  Christian  warfare.  Wherever  the  strife 
of  men  or  the  judgment  of  God  has  made  an  opening, 
good  soldiers  of  Jesus  Christ  spring  in  and  take  pos- 
session for  their  Lord. 

Thus,  when  war  and  treaties  opened  China,  the 
Christian  Church  leaped  in.  Within  those  mysterious 
barriers  Christ  is  now,  by  his  chosen  instruments,  clos- 
ing in  a  decisive  struggle  with  the  strong  man  who  for 
ages  has  kept  his  house  there  in  peace.  By  the  rents 
which  the  earthquake  insurrection  has  left  in  the  frame- 
work of  Indian  society,  our  missionaries  may,  perhaps, 
get  deeper  into  the  nation's  life  than  heretofore.  In 
Italy,  too,  after  the  thunder  and  the  lightning  had 
done  their  terrible  work.  Christians  lying  on  the 
watch,  were  ready  to  enter  with  the  still,  small  word. 
Already  the  Man  of  Sin  has  been  compelled  to  slacken 
his  grasp,  and  the  land  is  free.  Chosen  vessels  full  of 
Christ  may  bear  their  treasure  now  through  the  broken 
barriers,  and  pour  it  out  in  Italy — pour  it  out  in  Rome, 
the  same  unchanged  treasure  that  Paul  bore  long  ago 
to  the  same  place.  A  long  barren  night  has  passed 
over  Italv,  but  the  Word  of  God  liveth  and  abideth  for 


The  Lord  Rcigncth.  201 

ever.  By  the  very  fact  of  making-  openings,  God  is 
beckoning  for  instruments  to  bring  it  in. 

But  the  same  order  prevails  and  the  same  laws  rule 
in  the  minutest  scale  of  individual  life.  It  is  not  only 
China,  or  India,  or  Italy,  that  is  long  closed  against 
Christ,  and  at  last  opened  by  commotions  within  or  as- 
saults from  without.  This  neighbor  who  has  lived  long 
without  God  in  the  world,  and  fenced  himself  all  round 
against  the  inroad  of  serious  thoughts,  has  been  shaken 
as  if  by  an  earthquake.  It  may  b^  the  insolvency  of  a 
bank,  or  the  death  of  a  brother;  it  may  be  the  encroach- 
ment of  disease  in  his  own  frame,  or  the  spiritual  awak- 
ening of  sinners  near  him:  it  may  be  any  one  of  these, 
or  of  other  similar  shakings,  that  makes  a  breach  in 
the  defences,  and  leaves  an  opening  right  through  into 
the  soul.  Now  is  the  time  for  those  finer  instruments 
which  Jesus  loves  to  use.  Vessels  who  bear  Christ's 
name,  bear  it  in  at  that  opening  now.  Do  not  stand 
and  say,  We  are  not  great  vessels.  Little  vessels  will 
go  more  easily  in,  and  little  vessels,  full  of  Christ,  will 
do  the  work  there  as  well  as  great  ones. 

Has  Christ  visited  you,  brother,  and  freely  taken 
all  your  sin  away  .''  It  shows,  you  think,  that  you  had 
need  of  the  Lord.  Yea;  but  it  shows  also  another 
thing — that  the  Lord  has  need  of  you. 

The  Apostle  Paul  occupies  a  large  place  in  the  Bible, 
in  the  Church,  in  history,  in  heaven.  No  mere  man, 
before  or  since,  has  filled  so  great  a  space  in  the  scheme 
of  Providence,  or  left  his  mark  so  wide  and  deep  upon 
the  world.  The  gospel  is-  the  greatest  power  that  has 
ever  operated  on  earth,  and  Paul  was  its  greatest 
minister. 

Considering  the  tendency  to  hero-w^orship,  which 
seems  inherent  in  our  fallen  nature,  there  was  great 
danger  lest  he  who  stood  so  far  above  his  fellows  should 
be  mistaken  for  a  god.  This  danger  was  foreseen  and 
averted  in  the  election  and  calling  of  Paul.  He  who 
conceived  the  plan  and  executed  it,  hath  done  all 
things  well.  The  worshippers  of  that  saint  will  be 
put  to  shame  when  the  Scriptures  reveal  the  hole  of 
the  pit  whence  sovereign  mercy  dug  their  idol.  The 
history  of  Saul's  conversion  proclaims  more  clearly,  more 
loudly,  than  an  angel's  voice,  "See  thou  do  it  not." 


202  T]ie   Chiu'ch  in  the  House. 

This  most  learned  doctor  of  the  schools,  the  Phari- 
see who  scrupulously  tithed  his  mint,  and  devoutly 
buckled  on  his  broad  phylacteries,  was  the  life  and 
soul  of  the  infuri-ated  gang  who  shed  the  blood  of 
Christ's  earliest  martyr.  The  mob  executioners  got 
their  signal  in  the  glance  of  his  cruel  eye.  He  sati- 
ated his  own  sectarian  pride  by  the  murder  of  the  good, 
and  crowned  his  wickedness  by  offering  the  bloody  deed 
as  a  service  done  to  God.  To  make  an  idol  of  this  man, 
when  by  free  grace  .he  is  highly  exalted  and  greatly 
used,  is  either  impossible  or  inexcusable.  God  needed 
a  man  to  signal  the  glad  tidings  so  that  they  might  be 
seen  afar;  with  this  view  he  lifted  one  up  from  the  low- 
est place,  and  set  him  on  the  highest.  Thus  Divine 
mercy  found  free  scope,  and  human  pride  was  effect- 
ually excluded.  Job,  though  free  from  idolatry  in 
fact,  confessed  that  "the  moon  walking  in  brightness" 
tempted  him  to  kiss  his  hand  in  token  of  reverence, 
as  if  the  creature  were  Divine.  But  if  he  had  known 
that  moon  at  first,  a  mass  of  impurity  lying  on  the 
earth  and  polluting  it,  and  seen  it  then  by  God's  hand 
lifted  up,  and  lighted,  and  balanced  in  the  sky,  he 
would  not  have  experienced  any  tendency  to  worship 
the  once  filthy  and  still  feeble  thing.  All  the  homage 
of  his  heart  would  have  risen  spontaneously  to  the  liv- 
ing and  true  God,  who  made  that  lesser  light,  and 
hung  it  in  the  heaven  for  the  use  of  men.  It  is  thus 
that  we  are  kept  from  unduly  reverencing  the  Apostle 
Paul,  although,  under  the  Sun  of  righteousness,  he  is 
the  largest  light  of  our  spiritual  firmament;  for  in  our 
sight  he  was,  by  mere  mercy,  lifted  from  the  mire  of 
guilt,  and  fixed  the  loftiest  and  brightest  of  that  cloud 
of  witnesses  who  receive  and  reflect  the  "  Light  of 
the  world." 


Sau/'s  First  Experiences  as  a  Christian.       203 

XLVI. 
SAUVS  FIRST  EXPERIENCES  AS  A    CHRISTIAN. 


^^  But  Saul  increased  the  more  in  strength,  and  confounded  the  Jeius 
which  dwelt  at  Damascus,  proving  that  this  is  very  Christ.  And  after 
that  many  days  were  fulfilled,  the  Jeius  took  counsel  to  kill  hiiii,''^  etc. 
—Acts  ix.  22-^1. 


"  Then  was  Saul  certain  days  with  the  disciples  which 
were  at  Damascus."  After  the  great  change,  he  did 
not  immediately  go  either  to  Jerusalem  or  to  Tarsus, 
his  home.  He  was  not  yet  ready  to  begin  his  mission 
to  the  Gentiles.  He  was,  as  yet,  a  novice;  and  in  his 
own  experience  he  first  learned  the  rule  which  he  after- 
wards prescribed,  to  "  lay  hands  suddenly  on  no  man  " 
for  ordination  to  the  public  ministry  of  the  gospel. 

"Straightway,"  however,  it  is  added,  "he  preached 
Christ  in  the  synagogues  "  of  the  city  where  he  hap- 
pened to  reside.  As  one  who  had  received  mercy,  he 
instantly  began  to  make  it  known;  but  this  is  not  yet 
the  exercise  of  his  apostolic  office.  It  is  the  witness- 
ing of  a  convert,  on  the  method  practiced  by  David  the 
king.  I  should  not  expect  much  from  a  missionary  or 
a  minister  after  he  had  completed  his  preparation  and 
been  ordained  to  his  office,  if  he  had  not  in  the  course 
of  his  preparation  sought  and  found  opportunities  of 
bearing  witness  for  Christ. 

The  old  proverb,  "  Is  Saul  also  among  the  prophets  } " 
was  revived  with  a  new  meaning  and  greater  power. 
"All  that  heard  it  were  amazed,"  and  well  they  might. 
No  such  contrast  had  ever  occurred  in  the  memory  of 
the  people — no  such  contrast  has  ever  been  presented 
in  the  history  of  the  Church.  Already  the  conversion 
of  Saul  began  to  be  felt  as  an  evidence  of  Christianity. 
In  this  aspect  it  is  a  great  study,  and  has  been  of  late 
years  presented  with  great  variety  of  learning  and  skill. 
The  more  that  you  examine  the  facts,  the  more  you  are 
shut  upto the  conclusion  that  all  suppositions  fail  except 
one — that  Christ  appeared  to  Saul  in  the  way,  and  turned 
the  heart  of  the  kiiig  like  a  river  of  water,  so  that  the 


204  TJie   CJi}ircJi  in  the  House. 

whole  volume  of  his  life  thenceforth  flowed  in  a  new 
channel  and  to  an  opposite  sea. 

If  Saul  was  not  true,  he  must  have  been  either  dece wed 
or  a  deceiver;  he  must  have  been  either  a  fanatic  believ- 
ing his  own  error,  or  a  deep  schemer,  consciously  cheat- 
ing his  contemporaries  by  an  elaborate  tissue  of  false- 
hoods. If  you  suppose  that  he  was  himself  deceived, 
what  fanatic  ever  exhibited  the  calmness,  constancy, 
wisdom,  and  humility  of  this  man,  through  a  long  and' 
extremely  active  life,  in  contact  with  all  classes  of  men, 
with  mobs  and  with  statesmen,  and  profoundly  influenc- 
ing all .''  To  believe  that  such  a  life  had  no  other 
origin  and  support  than  the  whim  of  an  enthusiast,  is 
intellectually  harder  than  to  believe  that  it  sprang  from 
his  meeting  with  the  Lord. 

If,  on  the  other  hand,  you  suppose  him  a  deceiver, 
where  shall  you  find  a  motive  .-*  He  renounced  place, 
and  power,  and  honor.  He  attached  himself  to  a  small, 
despised,  and  persecuted  sect:  he  suffered  the  loss  of  all 
things  that  he  might  win  Christ  for  himself,  and  preach 
him  to  others.  This  supposition  is  contrary  to  nature — • 
contrary  to  universal  law.  The  conversion,  and  life, 
and  ministry  of  Paul  constitute  a  strong  pillar,  raised 
by  the  hand  of  the  King  in  the  mid-stream  of  human 
life,  that  mightily  helps  to  make  fast  a  disciple's  faith, 
when  the  currents  of  time  threaten  to  carry  it  away. 
He  hath  done  all  things  well.  "Bless  the  Lord,  O  my 
soul,  and  forget  not  all  his  benefits  !  " 

From  the  simplest  testimony  of  the  new-born  to  the 
fact  of  his  regeneration,  the  word  of  the  convert  increased 
in  power  until  it  silenced  all  his  adversaries.  "  Saul  in- 
creased the  more  in  strength,  and  confounded  the  Jews 
which  dwelt  at  Damascus,  proving  that  this  is  very 
Christ."  But  the  unbelieving  Jews,  true  to  their  char- 
acter, raised  a  persecution  against  him.  They  could 
not,  indeed,  withstand  this  v/itness  in  argument;  but 
they  could  kill  him.  Already  he  began  to  suffer  what 
he  had  formerly  inflicted.  He  saw  clearly  that  this 
Avould  be  his  experience  to  the  end  of  his  course,  yet 
he  never  wavered.     He  had  counted  the  cost. 

Somewhere  in  the  interval  between  his  conversion 
and  his  final  escape  from  Damascus  the  sojourn  in 
Arabia  probably  took  place  (Gal.  i.  17).     Arabia,  like 


Sa!(/s  /■'/rs/  Jixpcrii'iiccs  as  a   Christian.       205 

Asia,  is  a  very  indefinite  term  in  ancient  cj^eoc^rapliy. 
It  indicates  sometimes  a  larger  and  sometimes  a  smaller 
I  istrict  of  the  same  region.  Whether  Paul  retired  to 
the  desert  which  lay  close  by  Damascus,  or  went  into 
the  region  of  which  Petrea  was  the  capital,  or  penetrated 
into  the  Sinaitic  peninsula,  we  cannot  ascertain. 

Nor  are  we  informed  of  his  occupation  there.  Prob- 
ably he  did  not  go  thither  to  preach,  like  Philip,  even 
to  a  single  seeking  soul.  The  object  more  probably 
was  retirement,  with  such  inner  exercise  of  spirit  as 
might  qualify  him  better  for  his  subsequent  work.  Here 
he  was  ph\-sica!ly  as  well  as  spiritually  in  the  track  of 
IMoses,  and  in  the  track  of  a  greater  than  Moses.  There 
seems  to  be  some  mysterious  necessity  that  one  who  is 
commissioned  to  lead  a  great  exodus,  should  be  trained 
beforehand  in  solitude. 

The  length  of  this  sojourn  in  Arabia  is  also  left  un- 
certain. His  residence  in  the  city  immediately  after 
his  conversion,  the  sojourn  in  the  wilderness,  and  his 
subsequent  abode  in  Damascus  occupied  three  years 
in  all.  The  Jewish  authorities  had  time  to  recover 
from  their  consternation,  and  now  they  took  courage 
to  resume  the  offensive.  They  took  counsel  to  kill 
him;  but  he  found  the  means  of  escape,  and  returned 
to  Jerusalem. 

At  Jerusalem,  Saul  sought  the  society  of  the  dis- 
ciples of  Jesus;  but  they  feared  a  plot,  and  kept  out 
of  his  way.  No  wonder  that  they  feared  him.  The 
flock  had  suffered  by  the  wolf,  and  they  could  not 
easily  believe  that  the  creature's  nature  had  been  com- 
pletely changed.  Here  Barnabas  appears  in  his  proper 
character  as  a  son  of  consolation.  Knowing  the  history 
of  the  case,  he  took  the  convert  under  his  protection 
and  obtained  for  him  a  welcome  into  the  bosom  of  the 
Church.  Again  the  convert  preached  with  power,  and 
again  the  power  of  his  preaching  excited  the  enmity 
of  the  Jews.  When  his  life  was  a  second  time  exposed 
to  danger  the  brethren  withdrew  him  to  the  sea-coast 
at  Ca^sarea,  and  thence  sent  him  to  Tarsus  that  he  might 
be  beyond  the  reach  of  his  persevering  persecutors. 

Then  had  the  Churches  rest.  At  first  they  were  trou- 
bled by  Saul  persecuting,  and  next  they  were  troubled  by 
Saul  being  persecuted;  but  now  that  the  greatest  enemy 


2o6  The   CJiurcJi   in  the  House. 

had  been  subdued,  and  the  most  obnoxious  Christian  sent 
into  Asia,  there  was  a  lull  in  the  storm,  and  the  Christians 
obtained  an  opportunity  of  consolidating  their  infant  so- 
ciety. They  used  their  opportunity  well;  for  "  they  were 
edified,  and  walking  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord  and  in  the 
comfort  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  were  multiplied."  When 
they  obtained  relief  from  external  persecution,  they  be- 
came spiritually  prosperous.  They  grew  in  numbers 
and  in  grace.  We  are  accustomed  to  think  that  a  time 
of  suffering  is  the  most  likely  to  be  a  time  of  reviving, 
either  in  the  private  experience  of  a  Christian,  or  the 
public  experience  of  the  Church.  This  may  be  true  in 
point  of  fact;  but  it  would  be  a  great  mistake  to  sup- 
pose that  a  state  of  suffering  is  in  its  own  nature  better 
fitted  to  edify  the  body  of  Christ  than  a  state  of  peace. 
Severe  trouble  tends  to  crush  the  spirit;  and  when  de- 
liverance comes,  there  is  liberty  if  there  be  a  will  to 
run  in  the  way  of  the  Lord's  commandments.  The 
time  of  health  and  prosperity  is  a  better  time  for 
growth  in  grace  than  a  time  of  adversity,  if  it  were 
rightly  improved.  Nothing  more  distinctly  marks  the 
spirit  of  adoption  than  to  cleave  closely  to  the  Lord 
in  the  height  of  health:  it  is  the  sign  of  a  carnal  mind 
to  occupy  itself  with  the  earth  till  a  time  of  sickness, 
and  then  begin  to  cry.  Lord,  Lord,  open  to  us. 

Nothing  is  said  here  about  the  profession  of  those 
primitive  Christians:  the  only  thing  mentioned  is  their 
walk;  and  it  is  described  by  two  features.  They  walked 
"  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord,  and  in  the  comfort  of  the 
Holy  Ghost."  Both  sides  are  given.  All  solid  things 
have  two  sides.  The  engine  and  train  cannot  run  on 
one  rail;  a  man  cannot  walk  on  one  foot;  two  are  re- 
quired to  balance  each  other.  The  new  life  must  also 
be  sustained  on  two  that  are  in  some  sense  opposite 
to  each  other.  Such  was  the  Christian  experience  that 
issued  from  the  empty  grave  of  Jesus;  "  they  departed 
from  the  sepulchre  with  fear  and  great  joy."  Such  pre- 
cisely was  the  life  of  the  disciples  in  Judaea  when  they 
obtained  a  breathing  time  after  persecution.  "This 
child  is  set  for  the  fall  and  the  rising  again  of  many 
in  Israel."  They  were  bowed  down,  and  then  raised 
up.  Their  hearts  were  first  broken,  and  then  healed. 
They  feared  greatly  before  the  Lord  because  of  sin, 


Sai//'s  First  Expcn'cficcs  as  a  CJiristian.       207 

and  then  the  Holy  Ghost  comforted  them  by  showing 
them  the  things  of  Christ. 

We  have  now  passed  in  review  the  first  section  of 
Saul's  new  life.  In  that  man's  history  the  law  of  the 
Lord,  that  there  are  diversities  of  operation,  was  most 
conspicuously  exhibited.  The  choice  and  call  of  the 
twelve  did  not  complete  the  Saviour's  scheme  for  the 
beginning  of  the  Gospel.  For  the  purpose  of  introdu- 
cing his  kingdom  to  the  Jews  he  adopted  one  method; 
for  the  purpose  of  spreading  it  among  the  nations  he 
adopted  another. 

In  this  respect  especially  did  the  call  of  Saul  differ 
from  that  of  the  twelve,  that  he  was  a  man  of  learning, 
and  they  were  not.  The  Lord  had  need  at  one  time 
of  the  simplicity  and  even  the  ignorance  of  the  apos- 
tles, that  the  excellency  of  the  power  might  be  seen 
to  be  of  God;  at  another  time  he  had  need  of  all  the 
culture  that  the  age  possessed,  that  Greek  might 
meet  Greek  on  equal  terms  in  the  conflict. 

For  other  purposes  Saul  had  labored  in  the  fires  at 
Tarsus  and  at  Jerusalem  to  acquire  all  the  learning  of 
the  schools.  For  purposes  of  his  own  ambition  and 
sectarian  zeal  he  had  amassed  the  treasures;  but  as 
soon  as  he  had  acquired  his  wealth,  the  Mighty  One 
met  and  subdued  him,  and  employed  his  wealth  in 
building  up  what  he  had  intended  to  destroy.  The 
]^^g)'ptians  had  accumulated  great  riches,  which  they 
intended  to  employ  in  grinding  the  Israel  of  God;  but 
Israel  went  out  free,  and  spoiled  the  Egyptians  in  the 
outgoing. 

Thus  had  Saul  collected  his  treasures,  that  he  might 
use  them  in  wasting  the  Church  of  Christ;  but  he  and 
his  possessions  were  taken  and  pressed  into  the  service 
of  the  new  King.  Again  were  the  treasures  of  Egypt 
rifled  to  enrich  the  sanctuary  of  God. 

In  this  extraordinary  way  was  an  educated  ministry 
in  the  first  instance  obtained;  but  afterwards  the  sup- 
ply was  provided  by  direct  human  means.  Only  once 
did  Israel  obtain  a  supply  by  spoiling  Egypt;  after- 
wards, when  they  were  settled  in  Canaan,  they  ob- 
tained their  wealth  in  a  normal  way, — by  merchandise, 
or  agriculture,  or  mining  in  the  mountains.  It  is  thus 
that  resources  wrested  from  the  enemy  enriched  the 


2o8  The  CiniJ'ch  iti  the  House. 

ministry  at  the  outset  of  the  gospel;  but  for  ordinary 
times  we  must  ply  ordinary  methods.  We  have  no 
right  to  expect  a  qualified  ministry  without  our  own 
far-seeing  and  painstaking  effort.  Hence  the  Churches, 
although  they  know  that  the  Head  sent  Paul,  as  it  were, 
a  gift  from  heaven,  are  content  to  train  up  their  minis- 
ters as  Timothy  was  trained,  first  at  the  feet  of  godly 
parents,  and  then  under  the  instruction  of  more  e.xpe- 
rienced  teachers. 


XLVn. 

DO  RCA  S. 


'■^  Now  there  was  at  Joppa  a  certain  disciple  named  Tabitha,  which  by 
interpretation  is  called  Dorcas:  this  'woman  luas  full  of  good  work:  and 
alinsdeeds  which  she  did.  And  it  came  to  pass  in  those  days,  that  she  was 
sick,  and  died:  whom  when  they  had  zvashed,  they  laid  her  in  an  upper 
chamber,"  etc. — Acts  ix.  36-42. 

At  this  point  Saul  disappears  for  a  time  from  the  hori- 
zon of  our  history.  He  is  left  unnoticed  in  his  native 
city,  and  Peter  reappears  upon  the  scene.  In  those 
days  he  seems  to  have  found  a  m.ost  appropriate  field 
for  the  exercise  of  his  energy  in  making  tours  of  in- 
spection throughout  all  Judaea.  Here  is  the  true  work 
of  a  primitive  bishop.  How  welcome  would  the  ven- 
erable form  of  the  aged  apostle  be  in  each  of  the  small 
Christian  communities  scattered  through  the  towns  and 
villages  of  the  land.  Lydda  was  a  small  village  west- 
ward from  Jerusalem,  and  not  far  from  the  shore  of  the 
Mediterranean.  In  that  place  Peter  performed  a  mira- 
cle of  healing.  The  mighty  work  was  first  and  last 
employed  in  the  service  of  the  gospel.  The  formula 
employed  was,  "Jesus  Christ  maketh  thee  whole." 
These  men  now  were  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  so 
had  power  to  be  witnesses  to  their  Lord.  The  result 
corresponded  with  the  design:  the  miracle  was  effectual 
in  winning  souls.  All  that  dwelt  in  Lydda  and  Saron 
saw  the  restored  paralytic,  "and  turned  to  the  Lord." 
In  the  neighboring  sea-port  of  Joppa  another  mira- 


Dorcas.  209 

cle  was  performed,  greater  in  itself,  and  more  interest- 
ing in  its  circumstances.  This  work  accordingly  is 
more  fully  detailed.  A  disciple,  named  Dorcas,  who 
had  endeared  herself  by  her  skilful  benevolence  to  the 
whole  community,  grew  sick,  and  died.  The  sorrowing 
neighbors  thereupon  sent  express  to  Lydda  for  Pe- 
ter, and  Peter  came  at  their  call.  It  pleased  the  Lord, 
through  means  of  Peter,  to  restore  the  dead  to  life. 
The  fact  became  known  to  all  the  citizens,  and  "many 
believed  in  the  Lord." 

The  character  and  special  work  of  Dorcas  are  full 
of  interest  and  instruction  for  us.  She  was  probably 
unmarried,  for  nothing  is  said  of  husband  or  of  widow- 
hood. She  probably  lived  alone,  for  nothing  is  said  of 
father  or  mother,  sister  or  brother.  She  seems  to  have 
been  one  of  those  "honorable  women,"  of  whom  not  a 
few  have  arisen  in  every  country  and  every  age,  who, 
having  no  family  to  care  for,  adopt  the  poor  as  their 
children,  and  in  this  form  devote  their  time,  and  skill, 
and  resources  to  the  service  of  the  Lord. 

She  was  not  a  nun.  In  order  to  devote  a  life  to  the 
service  of  the  poor,  it  is  not  necessary  to  renounce,  by 
an  irrevocable  vow,  the  privileges,  joys,  and  duties  of 
family  life.  The  relations  and  affections  of  nature  are 
God's  workmanship,  and  do  not  necessarily  hinder  any 
good  work. 

Dorcas  was  a  disciple  full  of  good  works.  One  phrase 
indicates  the  well-spring,  and  the  other  indicates  the 
refreshing  stream  that  overflows.  She  was  a  "disciple" 
— behold  the  root  !  She  was  "full  of  good  works" — • 
behold  the  fruit-bearing  branches  !  God  hath  joined 
these  two;  men  should  never  and  nowhere  put  them 
asunder.  The  one  is  faith,  and  the  other  good  works. 
These  two  are  beautiful  in  unity;  but  either  wanting 
its  mate  "is  dead,  being  alone." 

People  who  have  a  smattering  of  religious  knowledge, 
but  have  not  been  taught  of  the  Spirit,  fall  alternately 
into  two  opposite  errors  in  regard  to  the  place  and 
worth  of  good  works  in  the  Christian  system.  In  the 
first  instance  the  crude  conception  of  self-righteousness 
springs  up:  Let  me  crowd  in  as  many  good  deeds  as  I 
can,  in  order  that  I  may  thereby  make  my  peace  with 
God,  and  have  a  good  case  against  the  great  day.     But 


2IO  The   CJnii'cJi  in  the  House. 

when  this  man  hears  the  gospel,  and  especially  the 
doctrine  of  justification  by  faith  alone,  he  begins  to 
think  that  in  this  way  of  salvation  there  is  no  place 
left  for  a  good  life — that  the  gospel  is  jealous,  not  zeal- 
ous of  good  works. 

When  the  work  of  the  Spirit  advances  another  step 
in  his  heart,  when  he  is  convinced  of  sin,  and  brought 
to  the  blood  of  Christ  for  pardon,  this  man  gets  a  new 
view-point,  and  consequently  a  different  view.  Good 
works,  as  a  justifying  righteousness,  he  not  only  does 
not  value,  but  loathes  as  filthy  rags;  yet,  as  fruit  to  his 
Redeemer's  glory,  he  lives  and  labors  in  them  all  his 
days. 

Such  was  the  place  of  works  both  in  the  profession 
and  the  practice  of  this  honorable  woman.  The  branch 
was  full  of  grapes,  sweet,  and  ripe,  and  beautiful;  but 
the  branch  was  in  the  vine,  and  that  accounts  both  for 
its  beauty  and  its  fertility. 

When  she  was  raised  to  life,  they  gave  her  back  to 
the  saints  and  widows.  She  was  their  property,  and 
their  property  was  restored.  Such  a  working  Christian 
belongs  to  the  neighborhood,  and  is  their  richest  treas- 
ure. The  work  of  Dorcas  was  personal.  This  is  the 
most  precious  kind  of  benevolence,  both  to  the  giver 
and  receiver.  She  knew  each  widow  whom  she  clothed, 
each  child  whom  she  fed.  Possibly  she  had  not  much 
money  to  bestow;  but  she  contributed  visits  of  sympa- 
thy, looks  of  love,  and  works  of  skill.  There  is  no  coin 
more  welcome  in  the  treasury  of  the  Lord. 

The  coats  and  garments  made  by  her  hands,  and 
exhibited  by  the  poor  after  her  death,  were  monuments 
to  her  memory.  Perishable  monuments,  you  may  think. 
Think  of  an  inscription  to  commemorate  a  great  life 
sewed  with  thread  in  garments  for  the  poor  ! — written, 
not  in  brass  or  stone,  but  on  the  smooth  sea-sand,  ready 
to  be  blotted  out  by  to-morrow's  tide  !  Nay,  but  this 
woman's  eulogy  has,  in  point  of  fact,  been  more  se- 
curely preserved  and  more  widely  published  than  the 
victories  of  Rome  or  the  art  of  Greece.  All  genera- 
tions read  her  praises,  and  call  her  blessed.  She  has 
been  greatly  honored.  In  one  point  she  has  been  made 
like  the  Lord,  she  has  left  us  an  example  that  we  should 
follow  her  steps.     Many  are  treading  in  her  track  to- 


Dorcas.  2 1 1 

da}"  and  the  world  is  f^recner  for  us  because  of  the 
footsteps  that  she  left  imprinted  on  its  sand. 

Some  monuments,  such  as  that  of  Sir  Walter  Scott 
at  Edinburgh,  when  they  have  obtained  a  high  place 
in  the  judgment  of  educated  men,  are  reduplicated  in 
pictures,  and  spread  in  many  specimens  throughout  the 
civilized  world.  The  one  original  monument  raised  to 
Dorcas  in  the  sacred  record  has  in  like  manner  been 
many  times  copied.  Societies  which  are  constituted 
for  continuing  her  work  frequently  adopt  her  name: 
and  thus  she  lives  to-day  in  the  world.  Being  dead, 
she  yet  speaketh  through  the  manifold  energies  of 
Christian  women  in  all  the  Christianized  countries 
of  the  world. 

This  kind  of  charity  was  new  in  the  world  when 
Dorcas  began  at  Lydda  to  make  with  her  own  hands 
garments  for  the  poor  of  the  neighborhood.  The  seed 
of  that  kind  came  from  a  far  country,  even  an  heaven- 
ly. It  was  dropped  from  the  lips  of  Jesus  on  the  fur- 
rows of  some  tender  hearts,  and  it  has  propagated  it- 
self from  generation  to  generation.  The  Lord  will 
doubtless  find  some  fields  of  it  growing  ripe  at  his 
second  coming. 

Christian  love  is  generic;  it  sends  out  many  subor- 
dinate species,  all  partaking  of  the  same  essential  na- 
ture, and  each  exhibiting  particular  features  peculiar 
to  itself.  The  species  which  Peter  found  flourishing  at 
Lydda  is  not  unfrequent  in  our  own  day  and  land. 
Where  it  is  genuine  it  is  as  beautiful  as  the  violet  grow- 
ing under  the  hedge;  and,  like  it,  fills  the  air  with  fra- 
grance. Female  love,  working  outward  through  female 
hands  in  making  garments  to  clothe  the  naked,  is  a 
well-known  and  comely  form  of  Christian  benevolence. 
Behold,  it  is  very  good.  It  is  Scriptural,  useful,  safe. 
It  is  twice  blessed — blessing  those  that  give  and  those 
who  receive. 

The  resources  at  our  disposal  are  much  greater  than 
those  which  belonged  to  the  primitive  Christians.  There 
is  a  greater  number  of  loving  hearts,  and  there  is  greater 
power  in  the  operator's  hands.  Cotton,  the  spinning- 
jcnnv,  the  power-loom,  the  sewing-machine — who  shall 
calculate  how  many  times  these  modern  discoveries 
have  multiplied  love's  power  of  doing  good  wherever 


^12  TJic   CJuircJi   in   the  House. 

there  is  a  real  living  love  ?  Besides  all  these,  we  have 
more  money  in  our  hands,  easier  means  of  transit,  and 
greater  facilities  for  combination.  The  earth  produces 
more,  and  the  powers  of  nature  perform  for  us  all  the 
harder  portions  of  the  labor.  One  Dorcas  in  our  city 
to-day  could  do  more  with  her  own  hands  than  five  in 
Lydda  in  the  time  of  Peter. 

Yet  with  all  these  advantages  we  have  not  over- 
taken the  destitution.  In  some  quarters  it  is  increas- 
ing on  our  hands.  Widows  and  orphans  are  in  want 
within  sound  of  our  Sabbath-bells. 

The  state  of  the  poor  around  us  should  put  us  to 
shame — should  hush  our  manifold  divisions  and  dis- 
putes, and  bring  us  into  one  that  we  might  be  stronger 
for  the  Lord's  work  in  the  world. 

I  could  point  to  scenes  of  horrid  cruelty  which  would 
make  the  blood  stand  still  in  your  veins  if  you  saw 
them;  and  yet  they  are  at  our  own  doors.  Children 
in  our  cities  are  starved  and  killed  by  slow  degrees  for 
want  of  food  and  clothing.  Why  should  this  be  while 
there  are  so  many  really  benevolent  hearts  and  so  great 
resources  at  the  disposal  of  the  community  .'' 

There  is  a  deeper  thing  than  the  hunger  and  naked- 
ness of  the  children.  There  is  a  root  which  bears  these 
bitter  fruits.  It  is  the  drunkenness  of  the  parents. 
This  is  the  gulf  which  we  are  unable  to  fill.  There 
it  yawns,  as  represented  by  public-houses  and  pawn- 
shops, between  the  warm  hearts  of  Christians  and  the 
starving  children.  There  it  yawns — a  bottomless  pit. 
You  may  throw  into  it  all  the  wealth  of  the  kingdom: 
the  mighty  contribution  will  sink  out  of  sight  in  the 
quagmire,  and  you  will  be  as  far  from  the  naked  chil- 
dren as  before. 

Dorcas  sits  at  home  with  a  burning  heart,  for  she 
has  seen  ragged,  barefooted  children  on  the  street  in 
the  winter's  cold.  She  sits  and  sews.  Stitch,  stitch, 
stitch;  love  makes  the  needle  go  until  the  garment  is 
completed.  With  light  feet  she  trips  down  on  the 
morrow  to  the  place  where  the  naked  child  dwells. 
She  clothes  it,  and  departs.  Next  day  she  will  visit 
her  charge  and  see  how  it  fares.  The  child  is  naked 
again;  the  mother  is  drunk,  and  the  house  is  cold. 
The  crarment  that  Dorcas  made  lies  on  the  shelf  of  the 


Dorcas.  215 

pawn-shop,  and  the  money  in  the  till  of  the  nearest 
public-house.  Thus  the  mill  goes  round — the  mill  that 
grinds  little  children  to  feed  the  real  giants,  more  ter- 
rible than  all  the  pictured  monsters  that  terrified  the 
nursery. 

This  process  is  conducted  on  a  great  scale,  crushing 
the  little  ones  into  premature  graves.  If  the  geologists 
of  a  future  era  should  dig  into  the  strata  of  our  ceme- 
teries, they  will  be  amazed  to  find  so  large  a  proportion 
of  the  remains  to  be  infants'  bones.  They  will  judge 
it  contrary  to  nature.  What  can  be  the  cause  of  the 
phenomenon  }  If  the  history  of  our  time  shall  then 
be  extant,  they  will  learn  from  it  what  their  philosophy 
could  not  tell  them — that  the  vice  of  the  parents  slaugh- 
tered the  children  !     Yet  the  nation  looks  on  helpless  ! 

It  is  certain,  and  easily  proved,  that  the  poverty 
which  is  true  and  natural,  caused  by  providential  cir- 
cumstances, is  small  in  quantity,  and  of  a  kind  that  is 
easily  cured.  We  could  relieve  it  and  not  be  burdened 
by  the  effort.  The  exercise  would  be  pleasant  and 
healthful  to  the  community.  Instead  of  being  a  pun- 
ishment it  might  be  realized  as  the  fulfilment  of  a 
promise,  "The  poor  ye  have  always  Avith  you,"  that 
we  might  never  lack  an  object  to  draw  forth  our  char- 
ity, and  so  might  never  miss  the  larger  blessing — the 
blessing  which  belongs  to  those  \\\\o  give.  But  the 
pauperism  which  springs  from  vice  is  not  only  so  great 
that  to  relieve  it  becomes  a  burden — it  is  of  such  a  kind 
that  to  relieve  it  is  impossible. 

There  is  need  of  two  things  :y?rjr/,  a. perennial  spring 
of  charity  in  Christian  hearts,  finding  or  forcing  a  way 
into  every  home  of  misery  in  the  land;  and,  second,  an 
effort  by  a  united  people,  acting  through  the  legislature 
and  the  government,  to  deal  effectively  with  the  ma- 
terial feeders  of  vice,  and  so  abate  the  nuisance. 

There  is  some  advance  in  public  opinion  at  the 
present  day;  but,  alas,  great  bodies  move  slowly,  espe- 
cially against  the  stream.  In  some  of  our  colonies  vig- 
orous experiments  have  been  made.  In  one  of  the 
Australian  governments,  for  example,  a  law  has  been 
enacted  under  which,  when  a  man  or  woman  has  been 
convicted  of  being  an  habitual  drunkard,  society  has  a 
claim  for  damages  against  those  who  supply  the  drink 


214  The  Church  in  the  House. 

Proposals  pointing  to  a  restraint  of  the  traffic  have  been 
earnestly  advocated  in  our  own  community,  and  formally 
submitted  to  the  legislature.  I  cannot  predict  whether 
this  method  will  be  successful,  or  that;  but  the  attempts 
are  most  interesting  to  all  philanthropists,  as  symptoms 
that  society  is  awakening  to  a  sense  of  danger,  and 
beginning  to  cast  about  for  remedies.  It  is  especially 
cheering  to  the  heart  of  Dorcas,  as  she  toils  to  roll  her 
stone  up-hill,  only  to  see  it  rolling  down  again,  to  ob- 
serve that  the  commonwealth  is  bestirring  itself  to  put 
some  check  on  the  huge  machinery,  driven  by  greed  of 
gain,  which  revolves  night  and  day,  summer  and  winter, 
to  manufacture  a  wholesale  pauperism. 

Meanwhile  individual  disciples  of  Christ,  whilst  they 
are  permitted  and  even  bound  in  their  capacity  as  citizens 
to  lend  their  influence  to  beneficent  legislative  measures, 
should  not  wait  on  the  slow  movements  of  a  nation. 
They  should,  from  love  to  the  Lord  and  pity  for  men, 
put  their  own  hand  to  the  work  wherever  they  can 
descry  an  opening.  Dorcas  enjoyed  the  blessed  privi- 
lege of  clothing  the  naked  who  were  within  her  reach. 
It  was  her  meat  to  do  her  Redeemer's  will,  and  her 
appetite  was  abundantly  gratified.  It  is  a  beautiful 
feature  of  the  Christian  Church  at  the  present  day,  and 
a  symptom  that  the  Spirit  has  not  forsaken  us,  that 
"honorable  women  not  a  few"  both  lay  out  their  means 
and  labor  with  their  hands  to  feed  the  hungry  and  clothe 
the  naked,  in  loving  obedience  to  the  Word  of  the  Lord. 


XLVIII. 

A  LIGHT  TO  LIGHTEN  THE   GENTILES. 


There  ivas  a  certain  man  in  Cczsarea  called  Cornelius,  a  centurion  of  the 
band  called  the  Italian  band.''''  etc. — Acts  x. 


Already  Christ  had  come,  the  glory  of  his  own  people 
Israel;  and  now  he  must  be  set  forth  as  a  light  also  to 
the  Gentiles.     The  second  half  of  the  promise  must  be 


A   Light  to  Lighten  the   Gentiles.  2 1 5 

fulfilled  as  well  as  the  first.  Shiloh  has  come  to  hold 
the  sceptre  in  Judah;  but  to  him  must  the  gathering  of 
the  peoples  also  be.  It  is  not  enough  that  the  law  of 
the  new  kingdom  should  be  established  in  Zion:  the 
word  of  the  kingdom  must  go  forth  from  Jerusalem. 
The  king  hath  prepared  his  sacrifice, — he  hath  bidden 
his  guests.  All  things  are  now  ready;  the  servants 
must  now  go  out  into  the  highways  and  the  hedges, 
and  compel  the  outcasts  to  come  in.  North,  give  up; 
south,  keep  not  back;  bring  my  sons  from  far,  and  my 
daughters  from  the  ends  of  the  earth. 

The  outflow  of  the  gospel  upon  the  Gentile  world  is 
a  great  turning-point  in  the  history  of  the  primitive 
Church. 

That  the  Gentiles  should  be  fellow-heirs,  and  of  the 
same  body,  and  partakers  of  his  promise  in  Christ  by 
the  gospel,  was  not  at  first  known  to  the  followers  of 
Jesus:  it  was  part  of  the  mystery  of  godliness  specially 
revealed  to  the  apostles  after  the  ascension  of  Christ. 
"Other  sheep  I  have,"  said  the  Master,  "which  are  not 
of  this  fold:  them  also  I  must  bring;  and  they  shall 
hear  my  voice;  and  there  shall  be  one  flock*  and  one 
Shepherd  "  (John  x.  16).  This  chapter  narrates  the  ac- 
complishment of  the  promise.  Here  we  learn  how  the 
door  was  opened;  or,  rather,  how  the  middle  wall  of 
partition  was  broken  down,  so  that  henceforth  there 
should  be  for  the  Church  neither  Jew  nor  Greek. 

Although  individuals  here  and  there  had  already 
been  admitted  into  the  fellowship  of  the  Church,  it 
needed  yet  a  revelation  to  show  the  believing  Jews 
that  the  way  into  the  gospel  was  as  open  and  free  to 
the  nations  as  to  themselves.  Those  who  had  entered 
hitherto,  entered  first  into  the  Jewish  communion,  and 
thence  were  introduced  into  the  Christian  Church. 
Now  it  is  made  evident  that  the  Gentiles  may  come 
direct  to  Christ,  without  passing  through  Judaism  on 
their  way.  God's  own  hand  had  hung  up  the  separat- 
ing veil  to  serve  important  purposes  for  a  time;  but 
now,  when  it  has  fulfilled  its  purpose,  his  own  hand 
will  rend  it. 

*  "Not  ONE  FOLD,  but  ONE  FLOCK;  no  one  exclusive  enclosure  of  an 
outward  Church, — but  one  flock,  all  knowing  the  one  Shepherd  and  knoivn 
of  him." — Dean  Alford. 


2i6  The   ChnrcJi   in  tJic  House. 

Peter  and  Cornelius  are  chosen  as  the  two  points  at 
which  the  two  bodies  shall  come  in  contact,  so  that 
they  may  be  joined  in  one. 

Cornelius  was  a  favorite  name  amon^r  the  noblest 
families  of  Rome.  He  was  an  officer  of  the  Italian 
band.  The  body-guard  of  the  governor  was  composed 
of  native  Italians.  Levies  raised  in  the  provinces  were 
not  trusted  near  the  ruler's  person.  This  circumstance 
makes  it  sure  that  Cornelius  was  a  Gentile.  He  be- 
longs to  the  Roman  Empire,  the  representative  at  that 
day  of  the  world's  power. 

He  was  a  devout  man.  Whether  he  was  a  prose- 
lyte of  the  gate  cannot  be  certainly  ascertained;  but, 
at  all  events,  he  was  not  further  initiated  into  Judaism. 
He  worshipped  God,  but  did  not  conform  to  the  Jew- 
ish ceremonial. 

He  worshipped  God  with  all  his  house.  This  is  a 
feature  in  family  life  that  is  always  mentioned  in  the 
Scriptures  with  honor.  Jesus  is  pleased  when  parents 
bring  the  little  ones  and  place  them  in  his  arms.  Grace 
not  only  flows  down  like  water,  so  that  from  the  head 
of  the  house  it  reaches  the  youngest;  it  also,  by  a  cog- 
nate law,  rises  up  like  vapor,  so  that  it  may  find  its 
way  from  a  godly  child  to  a  worldly  father.  Parents, 
bring  your  house  to  the  Church;  and  bring  the  Church 
to  your  house. 

"  Thy  prayers  and  thine  alms  are  come  up  for  a 
memorial  before  God."  Prayers  and  pains  were  equal- 
ly yoked  in  the  life  of  Cornelius.  Body  and  soul  to- 
gether constituted  the  religion  of  this  devout  Roman. 
It  i?  not  that  the  giving  of  alms  makes  the  giver  just 
with  God.  It  is  rather  that  the  gifts  accompanying 
the  prayer  serve  to  embody  his  desires.  The  charity 
was  not  a  dead  work,  for  it  ascended  to  heaven;  the 
gifts  were  the  outgoings  of  an  earnest  but  unenlight- 
ened soul  groping  after  God. 

"  Now  send  men  to  Joppa  and  call  for  Simon."  The 
Lord  puts  honor  on  the  gospel  in  that  he  sends  an 
angel  from  heaven  to  set  a  train  in  motion  for  convey- 
ing it  to  an  anxious  soul;  but  he  also  puts  honor  on  the 
human  ministry  in  that  he  does  not  entrust  an  ang'el 
with  the  work.  The  angel  is  employed  to  run  an  er- 
rand—to call  the  preacher  to  the  spot.     The  matter  i.s 


A   LigJit  to  Lighten  the  Got  tilt's.  217 

so  great  tliat  an  ang;cl  must  be  sent  in  order  to  ijet  it 
accomplished;  but  the  matter  lies  so  exclusiv^ely  be- 
tween sinful  man  and  his  Divine  Redeemer  that  the 
angel  is  not  further  employed,  after  he  has  told  \vhere 
a  minister  of  the  gospel  may  be  found. 

When  there  is  great  illness  in  a  family,  a  loving 
neighbor  comes  in;  but  he  does  not  presume  to  pre- 
scribe. He  will  run  for  the  physician.  So  do  angels 
minister  to  "the  heirs  of  salvation." 

This  arrangement  is  wise  and  good.  When  Paul 
was  constrained  in  faithfulness  to  tell  certain  men  of 
Philippi  that  they  were  "enemies  of  the  cross  of  Christ," 
he  told  the  stern  truth  "  weeping."  He  who  has  him- 
self been  taken  by  free  grace  out  of  the  pit,  knows  how 
to  pity  those  who  are  left.  The  words  that  win  souls 
run  thus: — "  Come  with  us  and  we  will  do  thee  good." 
"  We  have  found  him  of  whom  Moses  in  the  law  and 
the  prophets  did  speak;  is  not  this  the  Christ  .''  "  "  The 
blood  of  Jesus  Christ  cleanseth  us  from  all  sin."  This  is 
preaching;  and  therefore  angels  cannot  preach.  They 
seem  to  say — "  We  can  but  desire  to  look  into  this 
mystery;  send  for  one  who  has  passed  through  it." 
Send  for  the  man  who  denied  his  Lord,  and  thereafter 
melted  under  his  look  of  pitying  love.  Send  for  Peter, 
who  has  himself  been  saved,  and  he  will  tell  you  what 
you  must  do  to  be  saved. 

We  know  by  the  answer  sent  what  the  centurion's 
prayer  had  been.  The  answer  is  an  echo  of  the  re- 
quest; and  the  answer  is  to  show  him  the  way  of  life. 

There  were  many  strong  barriers  between  this  man 
and  Christ.  He  was  a  Gentile,  a  Roman,  a  soldier,  a 
centurion:  each  word  indicates  a  fence  within  a  fence 
to  keep  grace  at  bay:  but  grace  burst  through  all,  and 
led  him  captive. 

Peter  went  to  the  house-top  about  noon  to  pray. 
The  house-top  was  the  place  of  retirement.  Peter's 
closet  was  large  and  lofty.  Its  roof  was  the  dome  of 
heaven;  yet  it  served  his  purpose  well,  for  it  was  se- 
cluded. The  closet,  in  the  sense  of  our  Lord's  instruc- 
tions on  prayer,  is  any  place  where  you  may  be  shut 
out  from  earth  below,  and  open  upwards  to  heaven. 
That  is  the  best  closet  which  does  for  the  spirit 
what   the   house-top  did   for    the    bod}', — which   veib 


2i8  TJic   CJiurcJi   in   the  House. 

off  the  earth,  and  leaves  all  heaven  open  above  the 
suppliant. 

It  is  good. to  have  associations  of  special  communion 
with  God  connected  with  particular  spots.  The  sight 
of  these  Bethels  may  revive  sweet  memories  in  later 
years.  The  tree,  more  hoary  now,  in  the  rural  haunts 
of  your  youth,  under  whose  shade,  in  the  long  summer 
twilight,  you  were  wont  to  kneel  and  lift  your  soul  to 
God,  when  the  life  of  faith  was  young;  the  avenue 
along  which  you  were  wont  to  walk  communing  with 
a  present  Saviour,  when  the  sense  of  his  presence  was 
new; — sweet  spots!  beautiful  rays  of  light  from  above 
seem  still  to  linger  over  them  !  This  world  is  sweeter 
to  a  Christian  than  to  other  men.  It  contains  for  him 
many  spots  of  holy  ground  on  which  he  loves,  even 
unto  old  age,  to  dwell;  and  even  if  some  places  call 
up  sad  memories  of  evil,  they  remind  him  also  of  his 
Saviour's  love  in  blotting  out  all  his  sin. 

The  vision  of  Peter  marked  a  great  crisis  of  the 
Church.  The  apostles  must  have  experienced  at  this 
time  much  difficulty  in  reconciling  the  Lord's  com- 
mand, Go  ye  into  all  the  world,  with  their  adherence 
to  the  Mosaic  ordinances,  which  they  still  considered 
binding.  On  the  general  principle  that  you  may  dis- 
cover in  the  answer  sent  to  prayer  what  the  suppliant 
pleaded  for,  we  have  good  ground  to  assume  that  Peter, 
on  the  house-top  that  day,  cried  to  the  Lord,  O  send 
out  thy  light  and  thy  truth,  let  them  guide  me  on  this 
very  thing.  The  vision  that  followed  was  the  opening 
of  the  gates,  that  the  kingdom  long  pent-up  in  Israel 
might  flow  out  upon  the  world.  It  is  the  bursting  of 
the  chrysalis,  in  which  the  life  has  been  preserved  in- 
deed, but  confined.  The  life  that  now  issues  forth  is 
the  same;  and  yet  it  is  so  much  more  glorious,  that 
to  observers  the  Church  of  the  New  Testament  seems 
a  new  creature. 


Saved  by  the   Word.  219 

XLIX. 

SAVED  BY  THE    WORD. 


Who  shall  tell  thee  words,  whereby  thou  and  all  thy  house  shall  be 
saz'ed."— Acts  xi.  14. 


Convinced  by  the  concurrence  of  the  vision  and  the 
arrival  of  the  ambassadors,  Peter  at  once  consented  to 
go  to  CcTEsarca.  When  he  arrived,  and  found  that  Cor- 
nelius had  been  directed  by  a  Divine  message  to  send 
for  him,  he  consented  to  preach  the  gospel  freely  to  the 
Gentiles,  and  to  receive  them  into  the  fellowship  of 
faitli,  without  imposing  on  them  any  part  of  the  Jewish 
ceremonial. 

When  the  Church  at  Jerusalem,  which  consisted  of 
converted  Jews,  heard  what  Peter  had  done,  they  found 
fault.  "  They  that  were  of  the  circumcision  contended 
with  him."  Placed  upon  his  defence,  Peter  narrated 
the  whole  case,  and  obtained  from  the  assembled  coun- 
cil a  favorable  judgment  on  his  conduct.  There  is 
certainly  no  Popery  here.  Yet  this  is  subsequent  to 
the  time  when  the  Lord  had  said  to  him,  "  Thou  art 
Peter,"  etc.  Either  he  was  pope  at  this  time,  or  he 
never  was  pope.  The  council  placed  him  on  his  de- 
fence: he  accepted  the  position,  and  defended  himself. 
He  assumed  no  autocratic  authority.  He  simply  sub- 
mitted himself  to  the  authority  of  his  brethren. 

At  the  date  of  Peter's  mission  I  should  not  venture 
to  say  that  Cornelius  needed  to  be  saved;  but  he  needed 
to  be  taught  the  way  of  salvation.  There  was  before 
this  time  a  quickening  by  the  Spirit  in  his  heart,  but  as 
yet  he  knew  not  the  truth  with  his  mind.  Although 
at  that  moment  the  new  life  was  already  begun  in  his 
soul,  so  that  if  he  had  been  called  hence  ere  Peter  ar- 
rived he  would  have  entered  the  mansions  of  the  hea- 
ther's house,  the  Word  speaks  of  him  as  still  needing 
to  be  taught  how  he  should  be  saved.  I  shall  adopt 
the  same  tone,  and  show  the  necessity  of  conveying 
even  to  such  a  man  the  message  of  the  gospel. 


220  The   CJnircJi  in   the  House. 

Peter  must  go  to  Csesarea  for  the  express  purpose 
of  telling  this  man  how  he  may  be  saved.  If  his  alms 
and  prayers  had  been  sufficient,  there  would  have  been 
no  need  of  this  message.  They  that  are  whole  need 
not  a  physician. 

This  was  no  common  publican  or  sinner.  Before 
the  angel  promised  a  minister,  or  the  promised  minis- 
ter came  to  preach,  Cornelius  was  a  "devout  man,  and 
one  that  feared  God  with  all  his  house,  which  gave  much 
alms  to  the  people,  and  prayed  to  God  alway."  Here 
is  a  man  who  possesses  all  the  qualifications  of  a  saint, 
if  a  saint  can  grow  in  the  soil  of  this  earth,  without  a 
seed  sent  down  from  heaven.  He  was  devout  in  spirit, 
exemplary  in  the  training  of  his  children,  beneficent  to 
the  poor,  and  constant  in  his  religious  duties.  Here  is 
a  model  man.  If  any  man  could  be  just  with  God, 
apart  from  faith  in  Christ  crucified,  surely  this  is  the 
man.  A  better  specimen  of  humanity  you  can  nowhere 
find;  yet  the  word  of  God  treats  him  as  a  sinner,  and 
forthwith  proceeds  to  tell  him  what  he  must  do  to  be 
saved.  There  is  no  escape  from  the  force  of  this  case. 
It  effectually  shuts  out  all  hope  in  the  merit  of  a  man. 
In  presence  of  this  word  every  mouth  must  be  stopped, 
and  all  the  world  become  guilty  before  God.  If  this 
man  could  not  appear  before  the  judgment-seat  until 
his  sins  were  blotted  out  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  how 
shall  we  appear  with  our  own  sins  or  our  own  goodness 
marked  to  our  account  .'' 

The  difficulty  of  attaining  a  thorough  practical  con- 
viction that  if  God  should  mark  iniquity  we  could  not 
stand,  is  greater,  in  some  respects,  where  the  sins  are 
less  gross.  Open  vices,  although  not  more  sinful,  are 
more  manifest  than  the  rebellion  that  acts  in  the  heart 
of  a  correct  but  carnal  man.  Hence  the  experience, 
renewed  from  age  to  age  in  history,  that  publicans  and 
harlots  go  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven  more  readily 
than  smooth  and  sombre  Pharisees.  A  child  or  a 
savage  realizes  easily  and  completely  that  yonder 
mountain  which  lifts  its  head  to  heaven  is  matter; 
but  cannot  comprehend  that  the  air  which  encircles 
and  overtops  the  mountain  is  matter  too.  An  edu- 
cated person  knows  that  air  is  as  truly  matter  as  the 
rock.     It  is  in  some  such  way  that  those  who  are  child- 


Saved  by  the   Word.  221 

ish  in  spiritual  perception  take  in  more  easily  the  thought 
that  \'ice  is  sin,  than  that  the  godless  bent  of  the  carnal 
mind  is  sin.  It  needs  a  keener  spiritual  perception  to 
realize  that  this  devout  and  charitable  centurion  is  lost 
by  sin,  unless  and  until  he  be  found  in  Christ. 

By  what  means  shall  Cornelius  be  saved  ?  By  words; 
"He  shall  tell  thee  words  whereby  thou  shalt  be  saved." 
Strange:  when  the  loss  is  so  deep  and  real,  will  words 
bring  deliverance  .' — words — articulated  air. 

It  was  natural  for  Naaman,  with  his  hardy  intelli- 
gence as  a  practiced  soldier,  to  toss  his  head  in  con- 
tempt at  the  proposal  of  a  bath  in  Jordan  as  the  cure 
of  his  disease.  There  is  a  class  of  scholars  in  our  day 
who  sneer  at  the  proposal  to  cure  sin  by  words,  as  Naa- 
man sneered  at  the  proposal  to  wash  a  leprosy  away 
in  water.  They  have  no  confidence  in  doctrines  that 
come  into  a  man's  mind  from  without;  they  will  rather 
trust  to  principles  that  spring  up  within  the  man.  A 
salvation  by  words  they  despise.  Dogma  is  the  scorn 
of  the  unbelieving  philosophy  of  the  age. 

Beware  of  wandering  into  the  mist  here,  and  so  los- 
ing your  way — your  life.  Words  become  life  or  death 
when  God  employs  them  to  express  and  proclaim  his 
will.  God  said,  Let  there  be  light,  and  there  was  light. 
Jesus  cried  with  a  loud  voice,  Lazarus,  come  forth,  and 
he  that  was  dead  obeyed.  But  these  were  the  words 
of  God,  our  Maker  and  Redeemer.  They  were;  and 
on  that  depended  all  their  power.  But  may  he  not 
send  his  word  into  the  world  still  .'  and  may  he  not 
employ  human  lips  and  human  ears  as  the  channels 
through  which  it  shall  flow.' 

Lven  in  the  ordinary  experience  of  life,  men  are 
saved  or  lost  by  words — the  words  of  their  fellows. 
An  ocean-steamer  at  dead  of  night  is  rushing  through 
the  water,  at  the  speed  of  a  race-horse,  bearing  in  its 
bosom  a  miscellaneous  throng  of  men,  women,  and 
children,  some  asleep,  some  at  work,  some  at  play. 
Two  words — breakers  ahead — pass  quietly  but  clearly 
from  the  watchman  at  the  bow  to  the  master  on  the 
gangway:  two  other  words — starboard  hard — ring  out 
from  the  master  to  the  man  at  the  helm.  As  soon  as 
these  accents  fall  on  the  steersman's  ear,  he  presses 
the  rudder  mightily  to  one  side,  and  the  ship  bounds 


222  TJie   CJmrch  in  the  House. 

clear  of  the  rocks,  only  leaping  a  little  higher  for  a 
moment,  in  the  surf  that  surrounds  their  roots.  These 
words,  that  passed  away  as  breath  on  the  breeze,  saved 
five  hundred  warm  human  beings  from  a  cold  bed  that 
night  in  the  bottom  of  the  sea. 

The  world  with  its  teeming  freight  of  humanity  is 
rushing  on  like  that  ship  through  the  sea  of  time.  Man- 
kind, like  the  globe  on  which  they  cluster,  are,  as  re- 
gards their  own  sensations,  still  and  stationary;  but  in 
the  unseen,  unfelt  reality,  sweeping  forward,  like  smoke 
on  the  wind.  All  are  in  motion  always.  A  lost  world 
will  one  day  strike,  and  sink,  and  die.  God,  who  is  rich 
in  mercy,  did  not  leave  the  world  to  its  fate.  He  sent 
his  Word,  and  saved  it. 

Truth,  like  a  spirit,  is  invisible  until  it  put  a  body  on: 
and  words  are  the  body  in  which  truth  incarnates  itself, 
in  order  that  it  may  be  known  and  felt.  They  may  be 
spoken  by  human  lips,  or  exhibited  on  a  printed  page, 
or  sent  along  a  wire  in  throbs  of  electric  light — it  mat- 
ters not  what  form  the  words  may  assume,  as  it  matters 
not  what  may  be  the  color  of  the  ink  in  which  the  letters 
are*  written:  in  every  form  they  are  the  bo'dy  in  which  a 
spirit  dwells.  Evil  spirits  also  become  incarnate  in  a 
body  of  words.  The  wicked  one  embodies  himself  in 
words  whereby  men  may  be  destroyed.  The  whole 
Word  of  God  is  the  body  which  the  Holy  Spirit  animates 
for  his  quickening  and  sanctifying  work.  Take  heed 
how  ye  hear:  the  missing  of  a  word  may  be  the  loss  of 
a  soul. 


THOU  AND  ALL    THY  HOUSE.  I 

"  Who  shall  tell  thee  words,  whereby  thou  and  all  thy  house  shall  be 
saved.'' — ACTS  XI.  14. 

God's  hand  in  providence  is  always  busy,  bringing  the 
saving  word  to  bear  on  the  lost  that  they  may  be  saved. 
Ordinarily,  the  process  is  conducted  behind  the  scenes, 


TJlou   and  all  tliy  House.  223 

in  secret ;  but  now  and  then,  as  in  the  case  of  Moses  and 
Cornelius,  the  curtain  is  drawn  aside,  and  the  whole 
machinery  exposed  to  view,  that  we  may  learn  the 
method  of  the  Divine  government.  The  centurion  is 
dwelling  quietly  in  his  own  house  at  Ca^sarea:  he  is 
training  his  children  and  servants  in  the  right  way  as  far 
as  he  knew  it:  he  is  finding  out  every  frail  widow  and 
every  helpless  orphan  in  the  neighborhood,  supplying 
the  necessary  food  and  clothing  from  his  own  stores  as 
long  as  they  lasted,  and  begging  from  his  friends  when 
they  were  done.  Feeling  his  own  need  meantime,  he 
is  crying  unto  God  for  help.  God  in  heaven  hears  the 
cry,  and  determines  to  answer  it;  but  a  complicated 
machinery  must  be  set  in  motion  ere  the  water  of  life 
reach  this  thirsting  soul.  The  method  is  not  in  this 
case  a  whit  more  complicated  than  that  which  is  adopted 
in  the  daily  course  of  the  Divine  administration.  This 
case  is  uncovered  as  an  illustrative  specimen;  all  the 
rest  are  of  the  same  character,  although  they  are  con- 
cealed from  view;  messages  from  heaven  are  sent  both 
to  Peter  and  to  Cornelius;  and  when  speaker  and  hearer 
have  been  separately  prepared,  they  are  brought  to- 
gether. They  meet;  and  at  the  point  of  contact  the 
water  of  life  flows  from  the  charged  into  the  empty 
vessel.  The  word  of  salvation,  already  through  grace 
dwelling  richly  in  the  Lord's  apostle,  overflowed  into 
the  open  and  prepared  heart  of  the  Roman  centurion. 
By  that  word  the  man  was  saved. 

In  the  Garden  of  Plants  at  Paris,  a  certain  rare  tree 
grew  for  many  years.  It  was  a  thriving,  mature  plant. 
Year  by  year  it  was  covered  with  blossom,  and  year 
by  year  the  blossom  was  shed  on  the  ground,  leaving 
no  fruit  behind.  After  every  promise,  it  remained  bar- 
ren still.  At  last  one  season,  although  nothing  extraor- 
dinary had  been  observed,  after  the  flower  came  fruit. 
The  fruit  swelled  apace,  and  in  due  time  ripened.  The 
tree  for  the  first  time  formed  and  brought  to  maturity 
self-propagating  fruit.  They  sought  and  found  the  cause. 
Another  tree  of  the  same  species,  but  bearing  flowers 
the  counterpart  and  complement  of  this  one,  had  that 
season  for  the  first  time  blossomed  in  a  garden  at  some 
distance.  The  small  white  dust  from  the  flowers  of 
that  other  tree,  necessary  to  make  the  flowers  of  this 


224  ^'^^^'   Clna-cJi   in   the  House. 

tree  fruitful,  had  been  borne  on  the  feet  of  bees,  or  wafted 
by  the  wind  into  their  bosom,  and  forthwith  they  bore 
fruit.  This,  in  the  natural  department,  is  the  work  of 
that  same  all-wise  God  who  prepared  the  heart  of  Cor- 
nelius for  receiving  Peter's  word,  and  brought  Peter 
with  the  word  to  Cornelius.  In  both  departments  he 
is  wonderful  in  counsel  and  excellent  in  working.  The 
devout  Roman  centurion  was  a  goodly  tree,  spreading 
its  leaves  and  opening  its  blossoms  to  the  sun  year  by 
year  on  the  eastern  shore  of  the  Mediterranean,  very 
hopeful,  and  very  promising,  but  bare  and  desolate, 
until  words,  as  if  wafted  on  the  wind,  came  from  Joppa 
by  the  ministry  of  an  apostle  and  fell  upon  the  open, 
receptive,  thirsting  soul.     Life  sprang  from  that  union. 

You  have  passed  ten  or  twenty  or  fifty  years  in  this 
life.  If  you  have  passed  over  from  death  unto  life,  it  is 
well.  Hold  the  beginning  of  your  confidence  steadfast 
unto  the  end.  But  if  not,  think  how  much  has  been 
done  to  spare  your  life,  and  your  reason;  how  much 
has  been  done  to  bring  message  after  message  to  you. 
Be  on  the  watch,  lie  open;  at  a  time  when  you  think 
not  the  hour  may  come,  and  the  man,  and  the  word — ■ 
the  word  whereby  you  may  be  saved.  The  word  may 
come  to  you  at  a  moment  when  you  are  open  for  the 
word,  as  accidentally  and  yet  as  definitely  determined 
and  designed  as  the  dust  which  makes  the  flower  fruit- 
ful is  brought  on  the  feet  of  unconscious  insects,  or 
wafted  on  the  bosom  of  the  wind.  But  if  your  heart 
be  closed  and  cold,  when  the  word  of  life  comes,  you 
will  be  left  in  your  sins.  Beware  lest  you  miss  the  word 
which  is  sent  to  quicken  you. 

Machinery  boxed  in  goes  round  and  accomplishes 
its  work  as  well  as  if  it  were  all  exposed  to  view.  At 
one  extremity  the  raw  material  goes  in,  and  at  another 
the  manufactured  article  comes  out.  This  is  all  that 
the  visitor  sees.  For  once,  and  to  instruct  a  stranger 
the  master  may  take  the  covering  off,  and  lay  bare  the 
intricate  system  of  cylinders  and  wheels;  but  soon  he 
shuts  the  door  again.  Under  cover  all  the  work  goes 
on  as  steadily  as  when  the  observer's  eye  was  watching 
it.  Thus  has  the  author  of  salvation,  in  the  case  of 
Cornelius  and  some  others,  opened  up  the  processes 
of  his  providence,  which  are  usually  conducted  in  se- 


Thoii   and  all  thy  Hoitse.  225 

'Cret;  but  to-day,  and  here,  he  as  truly  works,  and  as 
wonderfully,  in  preparing  hearts  for  receivinc^  the  seed 
of  the  word,  and  bringing  vessels  charged  with  seed  to 
the  right  place  at  the  right  time.  By  the  ministry,  it 
may  be,  of  angels  unseen,  or  by  the  ministry  of  flaming 
fire  and  stormy  winds  unsuspected,  or  by  the  ministry 
of  men  whom  I  have  not  yet  met,  the  word  of  salvation 
is  coming  to  me.  All  things  are  now  ready;  be  thou 
ready  also,  O  my  soul. 

The  words  which  Peter  brought  to  Cornelius  were 
intended  and  offered  for  the  saving  not  of  himself  only, 
but  also  of  all  his  house.  The  prayer  of  the  centurion 
is  not  recorded.  It  is  written  that  he  prayed,  but  his 
prayer  is  not  written.  We  have,  however,  the  means 
of  knowing  what  was  in  his  prayer.  As  you  may 
thoroughly  know  a  man's  countenance  by  seeing  it 
reflected  in  a  mirror,  although  at  the  moment  a  par- 
tition wall  stands  between  him  and  you,  so,  from  the 
answer  which  a  suppliant  receives,  you  may  learn  what 
he  asked.  The  message  sent  to  Cornelius  in  answer 
to  his  prayer  tells  him  how  both  he  and  his  house  may 
be  saved;  therefore  we  know  he  had  asked  salvation  for 
his  family  as  well  as  for  himself  Wife,  children,  do- 
mestics, and  the  soldier  who  waited  upon  him  continual- 
ly, bulked  largely  in  the  supplication  of  that  earnest 
striver  into  the  kingdom.  He  prayed  in  secret,  and 
therefore  we  know  not  in  the  first  instance  what  he 
put  into  his  prayer;  but  God  rewarded  him  openly,  and 
by  learning  what  he  received,  we  learn  what  he  asked. 

If  I  am  told  in  general  terms  of  a  mother  that  she 
has  gone  to  the  studio  of  a  photographic  artist  to  ob- 
tain a  portrait  of  herself;  and  if  the  question  afterwards 
arises,  Did  she  sit  alone,  or  did  she  group  the  children 
round  her  feet,  and  hold  the  infant  on  her  knee  }  I  do  not 
know,  for  I  was  not  there;  but  show  me  the  glass  which 
the  artist  has  just  taken  out  from  a  vessel  of  liquid  in  a 
dark  room,  and  is  holding  up  to  the  light.  What  figures 
are  these  that  are  gradually  forming  upon  its  surface, 
like  hoar-frost  on  the  window  on  a  wintry  day  .''  In 
that  glass,  dimly  at  first,  like  a  thought  springing  in 
the  soul,  but  anon  with  greater  distinctness,  like  articu- 
lated language  on  the  lips,  rises  the  outline  of  that 
matrons  form;  and  see,  the  forms  of  the  children  come 


226  TJie   CJiurcJi  in  the  House. 

gradually  in,  variously  grouped  around  her,  and  the  in- 
fant sleeping  in  her  lap.  Ah,  I  know  now,  though  I 
was  not  present  at  the  operation,  that  this  mother  sat 
not  alone  when  the  sun  in  the  heavens  painted  her 
picture  in  that  glass. 

Thus,  by  observing  the  group  that  cluster  round 
Cornelius  in  the  answer  to  his  prayer,  I  learn  who  were 
crowding  round  his  heart  and  rising  to  his  lips,  when 
he  pressed  his  own  need  before  the  throne  of  grace. 

We  pray  in  secret;  it  is  a  privilege.  We  enter  our 
closet  and  shut  the  door,  as  the  Lord  commanded — 
permitted  us  to  do  when  we  pray  to  our  Father.  No 
one  knows  our  thoughts  and  words;  none  knows  except 
the  Hearer  of  prayer,  v/ho  feels  our  longings  pressing 
on  the  mercy-seat.  But  suppose  our  prayers — all  their 
thoughts— were  somehow  impressed  on  a  prepared 
plate,  to  start  out  in  full  outline,  and  be  shown  to  our 
neighbors;  what  then.'*  Then  shame  only  to  the  Phari- 
sees; but  as  many  true  wrestlings  would  be  seen  as  might 
win  a  whole  world  to  the  Lord.  It  was  this  thought  that 
was  in  Paul's  mind  when  he  said,  "  Would  that  ye  knew 
what  great  conflict  I  have  for  you." 

1.  Parents  and  masters  !  God  has  placed  the  young 
under  your  charge,  that  you  may  bring  them  to  him  in 
prayer,  and  by  instruction  bring  him  to  them.  Na- 
ture's affections  are  at  once  soft  and  strong  to  draw 
them  by.  Are  there  ten  in  your  house,  yourself  and 
nine  besides,  all  leprous  by  a  birth  in  sin  .''  You,  con- 
scious of  your  disease,  come  to  Jesus  for  healing,  but  if 
you  come  alone  he  will  miss  the  rest.  He  is  still  the 
same,  and  he  will  certainly  complain.  His  complaint 
will  be,  Were  there  not  ten  souls  in  that  house;  and 
where  are  the  nine  .'' 

If  you  bring  them,  as  Cornelius  did,  to  the  Lord  in 
prayer,  you  will  also  like  him  bring  them  to  the  word 
and  ordinances  of  God  when  an  opportunity  is  offered. 
Cornelius  was  able  to  say,  before  Peter  began  to  preach, 
We  are  all  here  before  God,  to  hear  all  things  that  are 
commanded  thee  of  God. 

2.  The  children. — The  word  that  is  sent  to  the  fa- 
ther and  mother  of  a  family,  is  a  word  that  saves  the 
children,  and  servants  too,  if  they  receive  it.  The  par- 
ents who  receive  the  word  cannot  save  the  children. 


PriDiitivi-  CJiristiaiiity.  227 

For  the  natural  life  the  children  must  j^ct  and  take  sus- 
tenance for  themselves.  The  bread  that  their  parents 
eat  will  not  preserve  the  children  alive.  So  the  life  of 
parents,  when  it  is  hid  with  Christ  in  God,  will  not 
carry  the  children  into  heaven.  I  am  the  vine,  ye  are 
the  branches.     Every  branch  in  me,  etc. 

Cling  with  all  your  strength,  not  to  your  godly  fa- 
ther, but  to  your  father's  God. 


LI. 

PRIMITIVE   CHRIS TIANITY. 

"  Now  tJuy  which  were  scatter ed  cd>road  upon  the  persecution  that  arose 
about  Stephen  travelled  as  far  as  Phenice,  and  Cyprus,  and  Antioch, 
preaching  the  word  to  none  but  ttnto  the  yews  only.  And  some  of  them 
were  men  of  Cyprus  and  Cyrene,  which,  when  they  were  come  to  Antioch, 
spake  unto  the  Grecians,  preaching  the  Lord  yesus.  And  the  hand  of  the 
Lord  was  with  them:  and  a  gi'eat  number  beliei'ed,  and  tur)i.ed  unto  the 
Lord.''' — Acts  xi.  19-21. 

They  speak  of  primitive  Christianity.  The  word  is 
sweet.  Wearied  of  manifold  errors  and  corruptions, 
we  listen  gladly  to  its  sound.  We  would  fain  possess 
the  thing  which  the  word  signifies.  But,  alas  !  those 
who  are  most  ready  to  adopt  the  name  are  the  most 
ready  to  abuse  it.  They  write  Primitive  Christianity 
on  their  banner,  and  boldly  set  out  in  search  of  it;  but 
they  halt  before  they  reach  the  object.  They  lose  their 
way  in  the  Dark  Ages,  and  never  emerge  into  the  Scrip- 
tural light  that  shines  beyond.  It  is  here,  in  the  Acts 
of  the  Apostles,  that  real  primitive  Christianity  is  to  be 
found. 

Three  things  appear  at  this  point  in  the  history — 
three  things  connected  like  links  in  a  chain: — i.  The 
ministry  of  men;  2.  The  hand  of  the  Lord;  3.  The  fruit 
that  followed. 

I.  The  ministry  of  men.  Some  disciples  belonging 
to  Cyprus  and  Cyrene,  scattered  by  the  persecution, 
travelled  as  far  as  Antioch,  and  addressed  themselves 
to  the  Gentiles  of  the  Eastern  capital,  "  preaching  the 


228  TJie   Chu)-cJi   in   iJw  House. 

Lord  Jesus."  The  missionaries  are  not  named.  They 
kept  back  their  own  names,  and  put  forward  that  of 
their  Lord.  They  have  left  no  record  of  themselves 
on  earth;  but  they  have  as  their  record  on  high  a  great 
multitude  brought  by  their  ministry  to  the  Saviour. 
The  persecution  that  culminated  in  the  martyrdom  of 
Stephen  was  intended  by  the  Adversary  to  crush  the 
infant  Church;  but  it  became  the  blast  which  spread 
the  living  seed  over  all  the  regions  of  the  East. 

Being  themselves  Jews,  though  born  in  foreign 
countries,  they  in  the  first  instance  preached  to  the 
Jews  only;  but  they  were  soon  led  over  the  barrier, 
and  entered  a  v/ider  field.  By  special  interposition 
from  heaven  the  first  opening  was  made,  when  Peter 
preached  to  Cornelius  at  Ca;sarea.  The  crevice  wid- 
ened rapidly;  and  in  a  very  short  time  the  gospel,  hith- 
erto pent  up  within  the  limits  of  Israel,  flowed  out 
without  impediment  on  the  nations.  True  to  its  own 
nature,  it  refused  to  be  confined.  According  to  the 
Word  of  the  Lord,  it  began  indeed  in  Jerusalem;  but 
true  also  to  another  part  of  the  same  Word,  it  speedily 
spread  to  the  ends  of  the  earth. 

There  is  great  precision  in  the  history  here.  There 
is  a  Divine  perspicuity  in  the  statements,  that  presents 
a  striking  contrast  with  the  crowd  of  dim  inconsisten- 
cies that  sprang  up  in  succeeding  ages.  The  theme 
of  these  primitive  preachers  was  "  the  Lord  Jesus." 
The  Christianity  of  the  apostolic  age  is  distinguished 
by  this,  that  it  everywhere  presents  a  personal  Sa- 
viour to  a  disciple's  faith.  The  wisdom  of  God  is 
here.  Man's  Maker  knows  man's  need.  He  only  can 
devise,  and  provide,  and  apply  the  remedy  for  the  ail- 
ment of  humanity.  Doctrines,  however  true  and  Di- 
vine, cannot  arrest  and  control  a  man.  They  are  not 
suited  to  the  case.  They  are  like  spirits  not  embodied. 
They  do  not  get  hold  of  us;  we  Bo  not  get  hold  of 
them.  When  the  soul  of  doctrine  is  incarnate  in  a 
person,  we  can  comprehend  and  apprehend  it.  When 
that  person  is  recognized  to  be  the  Lord  Jesus — God 
with  us — faith  looks  to  him  and  lives. 

This  is  primitive  preaching:  it  is  to  tell  the  story 
of  Jesus,  and  tell  it  until  hearts  of  stone  give  way  and 
flow  down  like  water.     Tell  of  our  fall  by  sin;  tell  that 


Prii)iitlvv  Christianity.  229 

we  have  departed  from  the  hviny;  God;  that  a  great 
gulf  is  fixed  between  the  prodigal  and  his  Father.  We 
have  no  power  to  pass  over  it;  and  no  will  to  try.  He 
came  to  seek  and  save.  The  Good  Shepherd  came  out 
to  seek  the  lost  sheep.  The  Just  gave  himself  for  the 
unjust.  The  eternal  Son  of  God  gave  himself  for  us — 
wrought  a  righteousness  for  us  that  we  might  not  be 
naked  at  the  judgment-seat,  and  shed  his  blood  to 
blot  out  our  sin.  He  rose  from  the  dead,  and  inter- 
cedes for  us  now  at  the  right  hand  of  God.  He  waits, 
our  way  to  the  Father,  and  our  righteousness  when 
we  approach.  They  preached  to  the  Greeks  in  An- 
tioch  the  Lord  Jesus,  and — 

2.  "  The  hand  of  the  Lord  was  with  them."  The 
instrument  is  all  human,  but  the  power  is  all  Divine. 
VVe  learn  here  with  great  simplicity  and  clearness 
these  two  things: — (i)  that  in  conversion  the  hand 
of  the  Lord  operates;  but  (2)  that  it  operates  through 
the  ministry  of  men.  In  this  work  men  can  do  noth- 
ing without  God;  but  in  this  work  God  will  do  noth- 
ing without  men.  "  How  shall  they  hear  without  a 
preacher;  and  how  shall  they  preach  except  they  be 
sent  } "' 

In  I  Cor.  iii.  9  Paul  explains  of  set  purpose  the 
union  and  relations  of  Divine  and  human  agency  in 
the  conversion  of  men:  "We  are  laborers  together 
with  God:  ye  are  God's  husbandry."  Men  are  taken 
into  partnership  with  God  in  the  work;  but  the  terms 
and  conditions  of  the  union  arc  clearly  defined.  It  is 
not  an  indefinite  announcement  that  some  part  of  the 
work  is  confided  to  human  skill.  A  case  is  given 
which  determines  the  limits  of  the  two  departments 
with  infallible  precision.  The  union  of  the  Divine  and 
human  in  conversion  is  the  same  as  that  which  takes 
place  in  the  cultivation  of  the  fields.  The  people  are 
the  field  to  be  cultivated;  God  and  man  in  concert 
carry  on  the  work.  We  know  what  man's  department 
is  in  common  agriculture.  Besides  the  main,  central 
act,  the  sowing  of  the  seed,  he  does  many  things  be- 
fore and  after  it.  He  breaks  up  the  ground,  and  makes 
it  small;  then  he  watches,  weeds,  and  drains  the  field. 
The  God  of  nature  does  not  perform  for  man  any  of 
those  operations  which  man  can  do  for  himself.     For 


230  The   Clutrch  211  the  House. 

his  part,  he  gives  rain,  and  sun,  and  air.  Without 
these  human  industry  would  not  avail;  but  without 
human  industry  these  would  fail  to  produce  fruit,  Di- 
vine though  they  be. 

Such  in  the  spiritual  field  is  the  cooperation  which 
took  place  at  this  point  in  the  experience  of  the  .primi- 
tive Church.  Men  do  all  the  cultivating;  and  when 
they  have  done  all,  they  must  wait  for  "the  hand  of 
the  Lord  "  to  give  effect  to  their  labor — must  look  up 
for  the  Spirit  to  be  poured  out  as  floods  upon  the  dry 
ground. 

3.  The  result  was,  "  a  great  number  believed,  and 
turned  to  the  Lord."  The  two  acts,  "believing"  and 
turning  "to  the  Lord,"  stand  here  in  an  interesting  re- 
lation to  each  other.  In  some  cases  these  two  expres- 
sions may  have  substantially  the  same  meaning  ;  but 
here,  where  they  occur  in  company,  the  "believing" 
must  be  the  root,  and  the  "  turning"  the  fruit  which  it 
bears. 

The  root  of  the  tree  lies  out  of  sight.  The  manner 
in  which  it  lives  and  operates  is  in  a  great  measure  con- 
cealed. But  the  fruit  can  be  both  seen  and  tasted.  By 
the  fruits  we  know  the  tree.  To  believe  is  the  secret 
act  of  the  soul;  to  turn  to  the  Lord,  is  the  visible  course 
of  a  disciple's  life. 

The  fact  that  the  first  act  of  these  disciples  after 
they  believed  was  a  turning,  shows  clearly  that  before 
the  gospel  reached  them  they  were  walking  in  the  way 
of  sin  and  death.  When  through  the  blood  of  the  cross 
a  reconciliation  takes  place,  the  life-course  is  changed. 
The  new  creature  in  Christ  now  abandons  all  that  he 
most  fondly  loved  before.  He  casts  away  his  idols, 
and  worships  the  living  God.  The  works  of  the  flesh 
are  abjured,  and  the  works  of  the  Spirit  appear. 

The  converts  were  many.  Like  doves  darkening 
the  air  by  their  multitude,  they  flocked  to  the  name  of 
the  Lord  as  their  refuge.  In  such  a  revival  the  Lord 
sees  of  the  travail  of  his  soul,  and  is  satisfied. 

It  is  a  common  and  a  true  observation  regarding  that 
sort  of  gain  which  the  Scriptures  denominate  "  filthy 
lucre,"  that  those  who  obtain  much,  instead  of  being 
satisfied,  rather  thirst  more  eagerly  for  more.  The  gain 
obtained  in  winning-  souls  is  in  this  single  aspect  like 


The   Grace  that  Ba?-nal>as  sazu.  231 

its  carnal  namesake,  as  an  angel  of  light  may  be  in 
some  sense  like  an  angel  of  darkness.  It  is  true  of 
those  who  win  souls — both  of  the  Head  and  his  mem- 
bers— that  the  more  of  this  gain  they  get,  the  more 
they  desire  to  obtain. 


LII. 

THE   GRACE    THAT  BARNABAS   SAIV. 
"  IVho,  li'/wn  he  came,  and  had  seen  the  grace  of  God." — AcTS  XI.  23. 

Scattered  abroad  by  the  persecution,  the  disciples 
of  Jesus  preached  him  in  Antioch,  the  great  Eastern 
capital  of  the  empire.  Here  a  wide  field  lay  before  the 
laborers.  They  cultivated  it  diligently,  and  soon  were 
cheered  by  a  harvest  waving  like  Lebanon.  Great 
numbers  were  converted,  both  Jews  and  Greeks. 

This  thing  was  not  done  in  a  corner.  The  rumor 
quickly  spread.  Friends  and  foes  alike  published  the 
tidings.  The  world,  at  one  of  its  great  central  marts, 
was  turned  upside  down  by  these  Galilean  preachers. 
In  such  a  case  those  who  love  the  change  and  those 
who  loathe  it  spread  the  report  with  equal  diligence. 
It  soon  reached  the  ears  of  the  believers  who  still  re- 
mained in  Jerusalem.  The  church  there  immediately 
despatched  a  messenger  to  the  spot,  with  instructions 
to  examine  and  report.  Barnabas  was  chosen  for  this 
important  mission.  "  He  was  a  good  man,  and  full  of 
the  Holy  Ghost."  He  could  discern  between  the  chaff 
and  the  wheat.  He  was  a  man  who  might  be  trusted. 
He  could  observe  with  discrimination  and  report  with 
faithfulness.  It  were  greatly  to  be  desired  that  mod- 
ern Synods  should  adopt  the  same  method  in  similar 
emergencies,  and  that  they  had  equally  judicious  agents 
at  their  disposal.  The  plan  was  good,  and  it  was  well 
executed.  Barnabas,  sent  by  the  assembled  Church  at 
Jerusalem  as  their  commissioner,  to  examine  and  re- 


232  The   CJnirch   in   the  House. 

port  upon  the  state  of  religion  in  Antioch,  v,  as  the  right 
man  in  the  right  place. 

The  result  is  briefly  recorded  under  three  heads: — 

1.  What  he  saw:  "The  grace  of  God." 

2.  What  he  felt:  "He  was  glad." 

3.  What  he  did:  "He  exhorted  them  all." 

I.  What  he  saw.  "When  he  came,  and  had  seen  the 
grace  of  God."  What  a  man  sees  in  any  place  depends 
in  a  great  measure  on  what  he  looks  for.  Different 
persons  observe  different  objects  on  the  same  spot. 
The  taste  of  the  observer  goes  far  to  determine  what 
kind  of  sights  he  shall  see.  An  architect  visiting  An- 
tioch in  those  days  would  have  seen  many  gorgeous 
edifices  in  the  city.  He  would  have  found  much  to 
attract  his  attention  in  the  commingling  of  Greek  and 
Roman  styles  with  the  indigenous  Oriental  tastes  of 
the  people.  A  merchant  would  have  e.xamined  the 
wares  that  were  exposed  in  the  market,  and  speculated 
on  new  openings  for  trade.  A  soldier  would  have  scanned 
the  fortifications,  and  measured  their  capacity  to  with- 
stand a  besieging  force.  In  such  a  case  a  Christian  too 
has  an  eye  in  his  head,  and  a  bias  in  his  heart  to  turn  it 
in  a  particular  direction. 

Barnabas  had  an  eye  to  business  as  well  as  other 
people  when  he  entered  the  Eastern  metropolis.  The 
edifice  that  arrested  his  regard  was  a  holy  temple  built 
of  "living  stones."  To  "win  souls"  was  the  gain  he 
coveted.  From  the  soldier's  view-point  too  he  looked 
upon  the  city,  and  considered  how  its  teeming  multi- 
tudes might  be  made  the  subjects  of  Christ  the  King. 
Barnabas  came  to  Antioch  looking  for  the  grace  of  God, 
and  he  found  it  in  abundance  there.  He  saw  also  other 
sights — sights  that  made  him  weep.  The  multitude  of 
that  heathen  city  was  wicked,  and  the  wicked  are  like 
the  troubled  sea  when  it  cannot  rest.  The  corruption 
that  met  his  eye  on  every  side  grieved,  but  did  not 
surprise  him.  Here  and  there  in  the  desolation  he  ob- 
served portions  of  that  "new  earth,  wherein  dwelleth 
righteousness."  These  were  the  spots  which  he  came 
to  seek,  and  these  accordingly  arrested  and  absorbed 
his  attention.  When  a  navigator  is  sent  out  on  a  voy- 
age of  discovery,  he  observes  wide  tracts  of  sea;  but  he 
does  not  report  that  fact  on  his  return.     Green  islands. 


Tlie  Gi'iicc  tliat  Barnabas  saw.  233 

great  or  small,  protruding  here  and  there  above  the 
level  waters, — these  are  the  objects  for  which  he 
searched  during  the  voyage,  and  of  which  he  speaks 
when  he  comes  home  again.  Such  was  the  errand  on 
which  Barnabas  was  sent,  and  such  the  method  that 
he  followed.  Of  a  sea  of  sin  that  was  spread  before  his 
eyes  at  Antioch  we  read  not  a  word.  His  report  refers 
exclusively  to  the  grace  that  rose  above  it.  As  the 
coral  islands  of  the  Pacific  rise  and  bask  in  the  light  of 
heaven,  flowery  and  fertile,  while  their  base  is  sur- 
rounded by  the  barren,  salt,  angry  waves  of  an  unfath- 
omable ocean,  so  the  group  of  Christians  that  clustered 
together  as  a  Church  in  Antioch  were  rich  in  all  the 
graces  of  the  Spirit,  although  they  had  sprung  from  a 
dreary  heathenism,  and  were  surrounded  by  it  still.  He 
reports  not  the  sin  of  men,  but  the  Grace  of  God. 

Barnabas  had  grace  in  himself,  otherwise  he  would 
not  have  seen  it  in  others.  When  the  Christian  doc- 
trine first  spread  in  the  empire,  certain  Romish  philos- 
ophers, intelligent  and  impartial  as  matters  go  among 
men,  reported  to  the  government  that  a  vile  supersti- 
tion was  inundating  the  land.  It  was  the  truth  as  it  is 
in  Jesus  that  was  so  characterized.  It  was  the  pure 
gospel,  as  it  came  from  the  lips  of  the  apostles,  trans- 
fused into  the  hearts  and  lives  of  believing  men.  Those 
who  called  it  a  vile  superstition  did  not  intend  to  give 
a  false  representation.  The  thing  that  was  exhibited 
before  them  was  the  very  thing  that  Barnabas  saw  at 
Antioch.  It  appeared  before  them,  but  they  did  not 
perceive  it.  They  did  not  see  grace,  because  they  did 
not  possess  it. 

Some  persons  among  ourselves,  not  deficient  in  un- 
derstanding and  the  power  of  observation,  persever- 
ingly  and  energetically  represent  earnest  Christians 
as  a  set  of  loathsome,  selfish  hypocrites.  They  think 
that  they  are  telling  the  truth,  and  doing  good  service 
to  God  and  man;  but  they  are  in  the  main  mistaken. 
Although  they  had  entered  Antioch  in  company  with 
Barnabas,  these  men  would  not  have  seen  the  grace 
of  God.  They  would  have  reported  that  they  found 
the  majority  of  the  population  living  in  undisguised 
vice,  but  that  a  knot  of  knaves  might  be  observed  in 
'the  crowd,  who  wore  long  faces,  and  spoke  in  snivel- 


234  '^^^'■'   ChurcJi  in  the  House. 

ling  tones,  and  were  tenfold  more  detestable  than  othei 
people,  because  they  falsely  professed  to  be  holier. 
Grace — that  is,  God's  favor  bestowed  through  Christ, 
and  accepted  in  faith — is  a  spiritual  thing,  and  it  is 
"  spiritually  discerned."  It  requires  grace  in  one  man 
to  enable  him  to  observe  and  own  grace  in  another. 

But  this  grace — this  favor  freely  bestowed — is  noth- 
ing less  and  nothing  else  than  free  pardon  of  all  sin, 
given  by  God  and  accepted  by  men.  He  who  has  ob- 
tained it  is  forgiven  through  the  blood  of  Christ,  and 
renewed  by  the  Spirit.  He  is  reconciled  and  at  peace. 
The  quarrel  between  his  conscience  and  the  Divine 
law  is  settled.  He  is  in  Christ  Jesus,  and  therefore 
there  is  to  him  now  no  condemnation.  The  man  no 
longer  dreads  God  as  an  offended  King,  but  trusts  and 
loves  him  as  a  Father.  Now  this  grace,  as  it  comes 
in  the  covenant  from  God,  is  an  unseen  thing.  It  is 
a  secret  in  the  soul.  How  then  can  it  be  seen  by  Bar- 
nabas, or  by  any  other  man  .^  Like  other  things,  both 
good  and  bad,  it  is  known  by  its  fruits.  Life  is  invisi- 
ble: and  yet  you  know  well  where  life  is:  you  know  life 
by  the  actions  of  the  living.  It  is  thus  that  grace  in 
human  hearts  becomes  known:  it  is  known  by  its  fruits 
in  human  life.  Grace  in  its  germ  is  invisible  to  all;  but 
those  who,  like  Barnabas,  have  tasted  it  themselves, 
can  detect  its  presence  by  the  fruits  which  it  bears. 

The  Christians  in  Antioch  had  abandoned  idols. 
They  bore  the  name  of  Christ,  although  it  might  ex- 
pose them  to  persecution.  They  lived  "  soberly,  right- 
eously, and  godly  "  in  the  world.  They  were  patient 
in  tribulation,  and  instant  in  prayer.  The  rich  gladly 
helped  the  poor,  and  the  poor  industriously  helped  them- 
selves. "  Faith,  hope,  charity,  these  three,"  beamed 
in  their  eyes  and  moulded  their  actions.  There  was 
a  great  exhibition  in  the  Eastern  capital  at  this  time, 
and  Barnabas  went  down  to  see  it.  It  was  a  noble 
palace,  built  of  living  stones,  growing  together  into 
a  holy  temple.  He  scanned  it  from  its  foundation  on 
the  Rock  of  Ages  up  to  the  brotherly  love  that  efflo- 
resced richly  from  its  loftiest  pinnacles;  and  while  he 
acknowledged  a  beneficent  change  in  the  life  of  those 
saved  men,  he  ascribed  it  all  to  the  goodness  of  God 
their  Saviour. 


The  Gladness  tJiat  Baniabas  experienced.       235 

LIII. 

THE   GLADNESS   THAT  BARNABAS  EXPERIENCED. 

■'  IVho,  xuhai   he   came,   and  had  seen  the  grace  of  God,   was  g/ad." — 
Acts  xi.  23. 

II.  Barnabas  "was  glad"  when  he  saw  the  blessed 
effects  which  the  gospel  had  already  wrought  in  Anti- 
och.  Incidentally  this  throws  light  upon  the  charac- 
ter of  the  commissioner  himself.  Tell  me  what  glad- 
dens or  grieves  a  man,  and  I  will  tell  you  what  sort  of 
a  man  he  is. 

The  prosperity  that  made  him  glad  was  moral  and 
spiritual,  rather  than  material.  Men  of  such  an  eye 
and  such  a  taste  are  greatly  needed  in  our  modern  com- 
monwealths. We  are  carried  away  in  a  mighty  tide 
of  material  progress;  and  although  moral  worth  is  grace- 
fully owned  as  indispensable,  there  is  a  tendency,  strong 
and  constant,  to  give  it  only  a  secondary  place.  The 
vastness  of  a  nation's  wealth  and  power  will  only  make 
its  fall  more  terrible,  if  it  is  rotten  at  the  root.  Physi- 
cal resources,  even  when  directed  by  cultivated  intel- 
lect, do  not  insure  the  happiness  or  the  safety  of  a  peo- 
ple. Man  has  been  made  with  a  side  for  God  and  a 
side  for  the  world:  if  the  side  that  lies  toward  eternity 
loses  its  life,  then,  however  actively  the  side  toward 
time  may  perform  its  functions,  the  whole  body  is  par- 
alyzed. We  have  railways,  and  telegraphs,  and  ships; 
and  these,  in  their  present  measure  of  perfection,  are 
new  acquisitions  made  by  our  own  generation;  but  the 
gospel  is  a  more  precious  treasure,  and  our  ancestors 
possessed  it  in  its  fulness  long  ago.  I  rejoice  in  the 
recent  attainments  of  my  country,  for  they  are  good; 
but  I  rejoice  more  in  "  the  grace  of  God  "  that  reigns 
in  the  hearts  of  my  fellow-Christians,  for  it  is  better. 

The  grace  or  virtue  that  made  Barnabas  glad  was 
possessed  and  exercised  by  others.  There  is  not  a 
finer  feature  in  any  man's  character  than  the  capacity 
and  tendency  to  rejoice  in  a  neighbor's  prosperity. 
This  is  the  mark  of  a  true  Christian,  for  it  is  a  mark 


236  The   Church   in  the  House. 

that  belonged  to  the  Master.  Christ's  command  is, 
*'  Love  one  another,  as  I  have  loved  you."  Another 
law  of  the  spiritual  commonwealth  is,  "  Put  off  the  old 
man, — put  on  the  new  man"  (Eph.  iv.  22-24).  When 
the  old  man  is  put  away,  his  essential  and  characteris- 
tic affections  go  with  him.  Selfishness  and  envy  are 
cast  off,  and  a  generous  self-forgetting  love  springs  up 
in  their  room.     "  Charity  envieth  not." 

But  the  fruit  in  which  this  evangelist  rejoiced  not 
only  grew  in  other  hearts;  it  was  planted,  too,  by  other 
hands.  It  is  easy  for  a  minister  of  the  gospel,  if  he  be 
a  true  man  at  all,  to  be  glad  when  he  sees  his  own  work 
prospering.  It  is  a  lawful  and  a  pure  enjoyment.  The 
Apostle  John  experienced  it:  "I  have  no  greater  joy 
than  to  hear  that  my  children  walk  in  truth."  It  is 
pleasant  employment  for  Paul  or  Apollos  to  come  back 
to  the  garden  which  his  own  hands  have  planted  or 
watered,  and  find  the  trees  all  laden  with  ripened  fruit. 
But  a  deeper  humility  and  a  loftier  faith  are  implied 
when  an  evangelist  rejoices  to  see  another  man's  gar- 
den prospering,  while  comparative  barrenness  broods 
over  his  own.  Indeed,  there  is  scarcely  any  weakness 
into  which  even  sincere  ministers  of  the  gospel  are 
more  liable  to  fall  than  into  that  species  of  jealousy 
which  consists  in  rejoicing  less  heartily  over  fruit  which 
another  hand  has  cultivated.  In  recent  times  a  spirit 
of  more  enlarged  charity  has  been  poured  upon  the 
Church.  True  workers  rejoice  in  each  other's  success. 
Of  late.  Christians  have  frequently  been  called  to  visit 
scenes  of  revival,  and  have  learned  to  be  glad,  like 
Barnabas,  over  a  more  vigorous  and  devoted  spiritual 
life  in  some  hitherto  heathenish  Antioch,  than  they  had 
ever  witnessed  under  their  own  inspection  in  a  privi- 
leged Jerusalem.  The  Sovereign  Lord  is  still  teaching 
us  that  converting  power  does  not  reside  in  an  arm  of 
flesh.  To  him  every  knee  must  bow;  to  him  every 
tongue  confess.  He  may,  for  wise  purposes  in  his 
administration,  employ  in  his  work  a  feeble  instru- 
ment, and  lay  the  stronger  for  awhile  aside.  Some 
unknown,  ungifted  refugees  may  successfully  found 
a  Church  in  Antioch,  while  the  greatest  apostles 
seem  to  be  spending  their  strength  in  vain. 

Although  only  the  gladness  of  this  evangelist  is  re- 


The  Gladness  that  Barnabas  cx-pcriciiccd.      237 

corded,  \vc  know  well  that  a  great  grief  lay  beside  it  in 
his  heart,  as  he  paced  the  streets  of  Antioch.  He  saw 
the  evil  as  well  as  the  good.  The  good  shone  more 
brightly  in  his  eyes  by  contrast  with  conterminous 
evil;  and  the  evil  seemed  blacker  because  the  good  was 
beaming  so  near.  This  is  a  feature  that  adheres  to  all 
the  delight  of  Christians  in  the  present  world.  Such 
is  our  condition  here  that  we  cannot  open  our  eyes  to 
look  on  purity  without  perceiving  impurity  lying  near. 
It  is  even  by  the  dark  shade  of  contiguous  wickedness 
that  we  are  able  to  trace  the  features  of  holiness  among 
men.  As  a  painter  fills  his  background  with  darkness, 
deeper  and  deeper  according  as  he  desires  to  project 
his  central  figure  more  vividly  into  view,  so,  by  the  ne- 
cessary conditions  of  our  present  state,  the  beauty  of 
the  new  creature  implanted  by  Divine  grace  in  true  dis- 
ciples is  brought  more  brightly  out  by  the  surrounding 
of  sin  in  which  it  is  set.  The  sadness  that  sat  silently 
on  the  heart  of  Barnabas  while  he  was  making  his  in- 
spection did  not  destroy,  but  rather  enhanced  his  joy. 
The  heaving  sea  of  wickedness  that  stretched  on  all 
sides  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  made  more  lovely 
the  green  islands  that  were  projected  above  its  surface 
and  seemed  to  lie  upon  its  breast. 

The  gladness  of  this  deputy  from  the  Church  at  Je- 
rusalem was  not  a  sentimental  emotion  terminating  in 
the  person  who  enjoyed  it.  It  was  an  active,  outgo- 
ing, operative  passion.  It  was  a  spark  that  lighted  up 
a  flame  within  the  man;  and  that  flame  quickly  spread 
over  surrounding  objects.  A  selfish  joy  is  an  ignoble 
thing.  The  gladness  that  goes  no  further  than  the 
childish  exclamation  of  the  ancient  idolaters,  "Aha,  I 
am  warm  !  "  as  they  sat  round  their  fire,  is  a  matter 
that  belongs  to  man  in  common  with  the  brutes.  But 
the  joy  which  thrills  in  a  Christian's  heart  at  the  sigiit 
of  "grace"  in  the  life  of  men,  makes  its  higher  nature 
known  by  its  instant,  energetic  action.  When  a  true 
Christian  is  made  glad  by  seeing  some  grace,  he  forth- 
with begins  to  labor  with  all  his  might  for  more.  It  i.s 
a  well-known  law,  operating  both  in  the  temporal  and 
the  spiritual  spheres,  that  while  the  heart  is  hopeless 
the  hands  also  hang  down.  The  desponding  cannot 
work  any  deliverance.     Glad  hope  that  makes  a  man 


238  The   CJinrch  in  the  House. 

happy,  makes  him  also  useful.  Had  Barnabas  seen  no 
good  in  Antioch,  he  would  probably  have  done  no 
good  there.  There  were  many  adversaries,  but  there 
was  a  door  of  hope.  With  the  unerring  instincts  of  a 
true  disciple,  when  he  gets  encouragement,  he  both 
gave  himself  to  the  work  and  enlisted  others.  "  Then 
departed  Barnabas  to  Tarsus  for  to  seek  Saul:  and 
when  he  had  found  him,  he  brought  him  unto  Antioch. 
And  it  came  to  pass  that  a  whole  year  they  assembled 
themselves  with  the  Church  and  taught  much  people." 

There  is  no  enjoyment  stronger  or  sweeter  within 
our  reach  in  time  than  that  which  filled  the  hearts  of 
these  evangelists  at  Antioch;  but  those  who  do  not 
share  their  zeal  are  strangers  to  their  joy.  Those  who 
do  not  keenly  desire  to  see  Christ's  kingdom  coming, 
experience  no  delight  when  it  comes.  Blessed  are  they 
that  hunger  and  thirst  after  righteousness,  for  they  shall 
be  filled.  They  who  wait  for  the  Lord,  as  lonely  night- 
watchers  wait  for  the  morning,  are  sure  of  their  reward; 
for  to  them  that  look  for  him  he  will  appear,  and  his 
coming  will  be  like  the  morning.  If  I  long  to  see  the 
likeness  of  Christ  in  the  life  of  my  neighbors,  I  shall 
certainly  be  made  glad  one  day.  This  desire  is  a  vital 
seed,  which  will  bear  its  fruit  of  joy  either  in  earth  or 
in  heaven. 

The  man  who  rejoiced  in  the  grace  of  God  as  he 
saw  it  struggling  through  hard  soil,  beneath  ungenial 
skies,  in  the  young  believers  of  Antioch,  looks  on 
brighter  fields  to-day.  By  this  time  he  has  asked  in 
astonishment,  with  the  beloved  disciple,  "Who  are 
these  that  are  arrayed  in  white  clothing,  and  whence 
came  they .-' "  The  man  who  has  an  eye  to  see  and 
a  heart  to  love  true  believers,  marred  by  many  imper- 
fections on  the  earth,  shall  look,  ere  long,  upon  the 
saints  made  perfect.  The  eye  that  glistens  now  at 
the  sight  of  grace,  will  be  permitted  soon  to  gaze  on 
glory. 


The  Exhortation  that  Barn  alms  gave.         239 
LIV. 

TIfE   EXHORTATIOy  THAT  BARXABAS  GAVE. 


And  exhorted  them  all,  tliat  'uith  purpose  of  heart  they  would  cleave  unto 
the  Lord." — Acts  xi.  2-;. 


Barnabas  was  happy,  but  not  satisfied.  The  taste 
which  he  obtained  of  God's  goodness  to  the  Christians 
of  Antioch  whetted,  rather  than  satiated  his  appetite. 
When  a  miser,  who  is  already  rich,  suddenly  obtains 
a  great  accession  to  his  wealth,  the  effect  of  the  in- 
crease is  to  stimulate  his  desire  for  more.  The  evan- 
gelist did  not  let  the  Christians  of  Antioch  alone 
because  he  saw  they  were  truly  converted.  Perhaps 
if  he  had  observed  nothing  but  a  grovelling  earthliness 
or  a  hollow  hypocrisy  in  the  infant  Church  there,  he 
might  have  held  his  peace.  His  experience  might 
have  been  like  Ezekiel's:  "Thou  shalt  be  dumb,  and 
shalt  not  be  to  them  a  reprover:  for  they  are  a  rebel- 
lious house"  (Ezek.  iii.  26).  It  is  comparatively  easy 
to  administer  reproof  to  those  who  are  willing  to  re- 
ceive it.  Hence  "to  him  that  hath  shall  be  given, 
and  he  shall  have  abundance." 

This  is  a  useful  and  needful  example.  There  is 
much  fickleness  even  in  true  Christians:  there  is  much 
deceitfulness  even  in  a  renewed  heart.  "  Let  him  that 
thinketh  he  standeth  take  heed  lest  he  fall."  We 
should  not  assume,  either  for  ourselves  or  others,  that 
after  conversion  the  time  for  warning  and  exhortation 
has  passed. 

God  knows  our  weak  points  better  than  we  our- 
selves. His  promises  of  help  may  serve  to  show  us 
where  we  are  liable  to  fall.  One  of  those  rich  and  pre- 
cious promises  that  were  addressed  to  Israel  through 
the  prophets  is,  "  I  will  heal  their  backslidings."  We 
learn  what  disease  is  wasting  us  from  the  physician's 
offer  to  cure  it.  Alas,  this  malady  is  still  epidemic  in 
the  Church  !  How  difficult  it  is  to  hold  fast  even  the 
attainments  that  we  may  have  reached  !     That  same 


240  TJie   CJ lurch   in   the  House. 

Saul  whom  Barnabas  brought  from  Tarsus  to  be  his 
coadjutor  in  Antioch,  at  a  later  date,  and  after  he  had 
attained  a  larger  experience,  placed  on  record  a  very 
full  and  specific  warning'  against  backsliding:  "  Where- 
fore we  ought  to  give  the  more  earnest  heed  to  the 
things  which  we  have  heard,  lest  at  any  time  we 
should  let  them  slip"  (Heb.  ii.  i).  The  allusion  in  the 
original  points  to  leakage  from  a  vessel.  In  such  a 
case  the  water  slips  gradually  and  secretly  away,  and 
is  all  absorbed  in  the  earth.  Thus  some  who  seemed 
charged  to  the  full  with  grace,  have  gradually  lost 
the  spiritual  mind.  How  shall  a  wooden  vessel  be 
kept  water-tight,  so  that  the  precious  supply  of  the 
household  may  not  ooze  through  its  joints  into  the 
ground  t  By  keeping  it  always  full  of  water.  It  is  by 
a  similar  method  that  grace  may  be  preserved  in  the 
heart  of  a  Christian.  Keep  the  vessel  full,  and  the  ves- 
sel will  not  leak.  Comparatively  few  make  shipwreck 
of  the  faith  through  a  deliberate  change  of  opinion  in 
the  direction  of  infidelity.  Many  more  are  ruined,  ere 
they  are  well  aware,  by  a  secret  backsliding  in  heart 
and  life. 

He  "exhorted  them  all;"  and  therein  he  acted 
wisely.  If  the  word  of  truth  is  rightly  divided,  every 
member  of  the  Church  will  get  his  share  of  reproof  as 
well  as  encouragement.  In  the  Christian  brotherhood 
there  is  no  privileged  class.  If  any  one  thinks  that 
his  age,  or  attainments,  or  office  should  exempt  him 
from  listening  to  a  warning  word,  that  very  thing  shows 
that  he  needs  a  warning  more  that  his  neighbors. 

The  substance  of  the  exhortation  was  that  they 
should  cleave  to  the  Lord.  Those  who  ministered  in 
the  Church  at  that  time  went  straight  to  the  root  of 
the  matter.  There  is  no  dallying  here  about  sacra- 
mental grace,  and  the  true  Church,  and  a  rightly  con- 
secrated priesthood.  One  thing  in  those  days  pos- 
sessed the  preacher's  heart  and  burst  from  his  lips 
when  he  addressed  the  assembled  Christians, — "Cleave 
unto  the  Lord."  In  this  "primitive  Christianity," 
everything  is  made  to  depend  on  personal  union  to  a 
personal  Saviour.  The  exhortation  in  its  nature  refers 
not  to  the  commencement,  but  to  the  continuance  of 
faith.    Those  who  have  not  yet  returned,  like  the  prod- 


The  Exhortation  that  Barnabas  gave.         241 

i^al,  to  the  Father's  bosom,  can  neither  understand 
nor  comply  with  it.  Only  those  who  have  embraced 
Christ  can  continue  cleaving  to  him.  If  you  bid  a 
man  hold  fast  who  has  not  yet  gotten  hold,  your 
words  will  be  unintelligible  to  him.  It  is  as  if  you 
should  advise  a  man  to  lean  on  the  air:  if  he  try  to 
comply,  his  hands  go  through,  and  find  no  support. 
But  a  dove  finds  that  same  air  a  sufficient  support  for 
her  body's  weight.  Faith  is  the  wing  that  spreads, 
and  leans  on  the  Omnipresent  Spirit.  As  a  bird  with- 
out wings,  is  a  human  soul  that  has  never  learned  to 
trust  in  God.  There  is  that  around  and  underneath 
us  which  would  sustain  our  weight,  but  the  unbeliev- 
ing feel  nothing  firm,  and  fall  helpless.  The  exhor- 
tation to  cleave  unto  the  Lord  is  appropriate  to  dis- 
ciples who  have  already  come  to  him,  and  tasted  his 
mercy. 

There  is  mystery  in  this  exhortation.  This  cleav- 
ing is  an  unseen  thing.  But  it  need  not  on  that  ac- 
count seem  strange.  We  meet  with  equal  mysteries 
in  nature.  I  have  seen  a  heavy  piece  of  solid  iron 
hanging  on  another,  not  welded,  not  linked,  not  glued 
to  the  spot;  and  yet  it  cleaved  with  such  tenacity  as 
to  bear  not  only  its  own  weight,  but  mine,  too,  if  I 
chose  to  seize  it  and  hang  upon  it.  A  wire  charged 
with  an  electric  current  is  in  contact  with  its  mass, 
and  hence  its  adhesion.  Cut  that  wire  through,  or 
remove  it  by  a  hair's-breadth,  and  the  piece  of  iron 
drops  dead  to  the  ground  like  any  other  unsupported 
weight.  A  stream  of  life  from  the  Lord,  in  contact 
with  a  human  spirit,  keeps  that  spirit  cleaving  to  the 
Lord  so  firmly  that  no  power  in  earth  or  hell  can 
wrench  the  two  asunder.  From  Christ  the  mysteri- 
ous life-stream  flows;  through  the  being  of  a  disciple 
it  spreads,  and  to  the  Lord  it  returns  again.  In  that 
circle  the  feeblest  Christian  is  held  safely;  but  if  the 
circle  were  broken,  the  dependent  spirit  would  in- 
stantly drop  off. 

The  phraseology  of  the  evangelist  designates  the 
"heart"  as  the  point  of  contact  in  this  cleaving.  Here 
the  Scripture  coincides  with  the  laws  of  nature.  All 
moral  attractions  hold  by  the  heart.  The  connecting 
link  is  love.     We  love  Him  because  he  first  loved  us. 


242  The  CJuirch  in  the  House. 

They  who  propose  to  keep  a  human  being  close  to 
God  in  a  conscientious  obedience,  by  brandishing  the 
terrors  of  the  judgment  in  his  face,  misunderstand  the 
essential  principles  of  the  case.  They  turn  the  wrong 
pole  of  the  magnet  to  the  steel,  and  thereby  repel,  in- 
stead of  attracting  it.  You  may  as  well  expect  a  stone 
to  rise  from  the  ground  spontaneously  and  float  in  the 
air,  as  expect  that  a  human  being  will  cleave  to  the 
Lord  whom  he  dreads.  I  cannot  keep  close  to  Christ 
until  I  learn  to  love  him,  and  I  cannot  learn  to  love  him 
until  I  see  that  he  offers  his  love  to  me.  When  he 
holds  me  by  my  heart,  he  holds  me  fast,  and  holds  me 
for  ever. 

But  there  must  be  "purpose"  or  predetermination 
as  well  as  love,  in  order  to  attain  a  trustworthy,  per- 
manent attachment.  Random  impulses  will  not  suffice. 
There  must  be  method  even  in  the  affections.  It  is 
not  wise,  it  is  not  safe,  to  leave  our  highest  interests 
at  the  mercy  of  varying  mental  states.  Frame  a  plan, 
and  execute  it.  Without  forethought  and  plan  and 
stern  resolution,  we  do  not  expect  to  be  successful  in 
any  effort.  If  half  the  skill  and  energy  and  persever- 
ance expended  in  the  community  in  the  acquisition 
of  wealth,  were  applied  to  the  gain  of  godliness,  we 
should  soon  have  great  treasures  laid  up  at  God's 
right  hand. 

Barnabas,  commissioned  by  the  Church,  and  full  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,  must  have  known  what  was  a  season- 
able word  for  young  Christians;  and  his  exhortation  to 
the  believers  in  Antioch  was.  Cleave  to  the  Lord.  Bleed- 
ing heart  of  Christian  to  bleeding  heart  of  Christ,  both 
glued  into  one, — the  severed  branch  inserted  into  the 
wounded  Vine  for  life — for  life  in  the  Lord. 


Barnabas  and  Saul  at  Aiiiiock.  243 

LV. 

BARNABAS  AND  SAUL   AT  ANTIOCH. 

^^  For  he  was  a  good  man,  and  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost  and  of  faith. 
Old  much  people  ii<as  added  tinto  the  Lord.  Then  departed  Barnabas  to 
Tarsus,  for  to  seek  Saul:  "  etc. — Acts  xi.  24-30. 

At  Jerusalem  progress  was  checked.  The  blood  of 
the  martyr  Stephen  was  indeed  the  seed  of  the  Church; 
but  the  seed  was  scattered  abroad,  and  the  harvest 
sprang  in  other  lands.  The  apostles  seem  to  have  con- 
sidered themselves  bound  as  yet  by  the  Lord's  com- 
mand to  remain  at  Jerusalem,  but  they  remained  there 
in  comparative  seclusion.  There  was  no  great  enlarge- 
ment like  that  which  they  had  enjoyed  after  Pentecost. 
The  ruling  classes,  in  alliance  with  the  mob,  had  suc- 
ceeded in  driving  away  or  silencing  most  of  the  disci- 
ples; Christ,  rejected  by  his  own,  had  now  turned  to 
the  Gentiles.  So  the  French  rulers,  by  the  massacre 
of  St.  Bartholomew,  cast  a  shower  of  precious  seed  on 
other  lands,  and  brought  desolation  for  many  genera- 
tions on  their  own. 

While  the  apostles  were  waiting  in  comparative 
inactivity  at  Jerusalem,  tidings  strange  and  stirring 
reached  them  from  a  distance.  At  Antioch,  the  East- 
ern capital  of  the  Empire,  a  great  number  of  the  Gen- 
tiles believed  and  turned  to  the  Lord.  Immediately 
the  assembled  brethren  despatched  Barnabas  as  their 
commissioner  to  examine  the  state  of  affairs,  and  act 
according  to  circumstances.  When  he  came  to  Anti- 
och he  saw  the  grace  of  God  there.  He  had  the  second 
sight,  for  he  had  the  new  birth,  and  the  spiritual  per- 
ception was  a  faculty  of  the  new  man.  He  rejoiced  in 
the  progress  that  the  converts  had  made,  and  exhorted 
them  to  follow  on  to  know  the  Lord.  The  result  of 
his  preaching  was  a  great  number  of  new  conversions. 

The  expression  employed  here  to  indicate  the  deci- 
sive change  is  striking  and  suggestive — "  Much  peo- 
ple was  added  unto  the  Lord."  It  occurred  before,  v. 
14.     It  represents  an  intimate  vital  union  between  the 


244  '^^^^   Church  in  the  House. 

Saviour  and  the  saved,  like  the  union  between  the  vine 
and  the  branches. 

One  fact  worthy  of  special  notice  emerges  here  : — • 
the  ministry  of  Barnabas  on  this  occasion  was  a  minis- 
try specifically  intended  for  the  edification  of  believers, 
and  yet,  in  point  of  fact,  it  was  eminently  effective 
for  the  conversion  of  those  who  were  without.  The 
preacher  addressed  himself  to  the  converted,  and  ex- 
horted them  to  cleave  to  the  Lord;  and,  as  a  direct  re- 
sult, many  strangers  were  brought  nigh.  The  word, 
aimed  at  the  living  for  increase  of  grace,  strikes  the 
spiritually  dead,  and  awakens  them  to  newness  of  life. 

Those  who  rightly  divide  the  word  of  truth,  alter- 
nate between  these  two  departments  of  effort.  The 
word  is  addressed  now  to  those  who  are  within,  and 
now  to  those  who  are  without.  Yet  in  the  ministry  of 
the  Sovereign  Spirit,  sometimes  the  word  meant  for 
edification  is  effectual  for  conversion;  and  sometimes 
the  word  meant  for  converting  sinners  is  used  for  the 
growth  of  grace  in  believers. 

"  Then  departed  Barnabas  to  Tarsus  for  to  seek  Saul." 
When  the  work  of  the  Lord  was  at  its  height  in  Anti- 
och,  the  worker  went  away  from  the  city.  He  went 
away,  although  a  great  door  and  effectual  was  opened 
to  him — went  away  because  a  great  door  and  effectual 
was  opened.  He  saw  the  door  so  wide  and  hopeful,  that 
he  determined  to  call  in  a  colleague — a  colleague  on 
whom  his  eye  had  for  some  time  been  set,  and  of  whom 
he  expected  great  things.  Taking  advantage  of  the 
proximity  of  Tarsus,  he  went  to  that  city  to  summon 
the  lately  converted  Saul  to  his  aid.  His  own  net 
cast  into  the  sea  at  Antioch  was  so  full,  that  he 
found  it  necessary  to  beckon  to  his  partner  in  an- 
other ship  for  help  to  draw  it  to  land.  So,  .vhen  a 
miner  in  the  gold-fields  has  fallen  upon  a  piece  so  large 
that  he  is  unable  single-handed  to  remove  it,  he  leaves 
it  where  it  lies — leaves  the  precious  lump  buried  in  the 
ground — leaves  it,  though  his  heart  is  in  it,  because  his 
heart  is  in  it— and  goes  away  in  search  of  a  friend  who 
may  help  him  to  bear  the  treasure  home. 

I  hope  the  two  will  not  quarrel  over  the  spoil  when 
they  come,  for  there  is  enough  to  make  the  fortune  of 
both.     Now  there  is  an  opportunity  afforded  to  these 


Bc7i-)tal>as  and  Saul  at  Aiitioch.  245 

winners  of  souls  to  make  great  gain.  Not  about  this 
work  and  this  treasure  did  Saul  and  Barnabas  fall  out. 
They  agreed  to  share  the  labor  and  the  reward:  it  was 
about  another  and  a  smaller  thing  that  they  afterwards 
quarrelled  in  a  moment  of  unwatchfulness. 

It  has  been  an  instinct  of  true  disciples  from  the  be- 
ginning hitherto,  to  concentrate  all  their  available 
forces  on  a  spot  where  success  has  already  begun.  The 
specific  call  for  additional  laborers  is  not  strongest  on 
behalf  of  places  and  populations  that  merely  show  great 
need;  it  is  strongest  on  behalf  of  places  and  popula- 
tions that  are  at  once  needy  and  promising.  The  call 
for  help  is  ever  more  commanding  when  you  are  able 
to  say,  not  only  that  there  are  many  out  of  Christ,  but 
also  that  not  a  few  are  coming  in. 

This  is  a  beautiful  feature  in  the  character  of  Bar- 
nabas. Besides  working  faithfully  himself,  he  has  the 
skill  to  enlist  others  in  the  work.  He  doubtless  prayed 
to  the  Lord  of  the  harvest  to  send  forth  laborers;  but 
to  his  pra)-ers  he  added  pains:  he  went  out  and  did 
what  he  asked  the  Lord  to  do. 

Of  all  the  disciples  of  that  day,  Barnabas  was  best 
acquainted  with  the  talents  and  character  of  Saul.  He 
had  already  (ch.  ix.)  introduced  the  convert  to  the 
apostles  at  Jerusalem,  and  now  he  introduces  him  to 
his  great  work  among  the  Gentiles.  At  Antioch  a 
mighty  two-leaved  gate  was  opened  to  the  Gentiles  for 
the  first  time,  and  it  was  appropriate  that  the  apostle 
of  the  Gentiles  should  there  begin  to  exercise  and  to 
magnify  his  office. 

The  historian  notes,  in  passing,  that  the  disciples 
were  called  Christians  first  at  Antioch.  Then  and  there 
the  disciples  began  to  be  known  by  the  name  of  the 
Lord  that  bought  them.  Looking  to  the  result,  this 
circumstance  is  memorable.  We  are  not  distinctly  in- 
formed by  whom  this  designation  was  first  applied.  We 
may  gather,  however,  with  a  considerable  measure  of 
certainty,  that  the  term  was  employed  by  the  Gentile 
Greeks  to  indicate  the  disciples  of  the  Nazarene.  The 
name  is  not  assumed  in  this  book  by  the  Christians 
themselves;  and  the  unbelieving  Jews  would  not  employ 
it,  for  in  their  lips  it  would  seem  to  concede  that  Jesus 
was  indeed  the  Messiah.     It  is  more   likely,  therefore, 


246  The   CJiiircJi  in  the  House 

that  the  Gentiles,  hearing  that  name  continually  from 
the  lips  of  believers,  employed  it  to  designate  the  sect. 

The  name  is  sweet,  when  it  is  true.  But,  alas  !  it 
has  often  been  made  contemptible  in  the  world  through 
the  impure  lives  of  those  who  bear  it.  To  be  called  by 
his  name  is  nothing,  unless  we  be  renewed  into  his 
likeness. 

The  other  name,  most  commonly  applied  in  Scripture 
to  designate  our  Redeemer,  has  experienced  a  similar 
diversity  of  use  in  the  history  of  the  Church.  "How 
sweet  the  name  of  Jesus  sounds  in  a  believer's  ear ! '" 
And  yet  a  Jesuit  has  become  a  synonym  for  all  that  is 
false  and  cunning  and  corrupt  throughout  the  civilized 
world.  What's  in  a  name  .^  Nothing,  even  though  it 
be  the  highest  of  all  names,  unless  the  new  nature  be 
formed  in  him  who  bears  it. 

At  this  time  certain  prophets  from  Jerusalem  warned 
the  disciples  at  Antioch  of  a  famine  that  should  afflict 
the  Empire  at  an  early  date.  It  came  in  the  reign  of 
Claudius:  it  was  severely  felt  in  many  provinces,  but 
most  of  all  in  Judaea. 

This  announcement  is  introduced  into  the  narrative 
not  for  its  own  sake,  but  on  account  of  the  fruit  which 
immediately  resulted  in  the  form  of  contributions  made 
out  of  their  abundance  by  the  believing  Gentiles  in  An- 
tioch, to  sustain  the  believing  Jews  at  Jerusalem  in  the 
day  of  their  distress.  These  gifts  have  the  peculiar 
fragrance  of  first-fruits.  A  very  great  harvest  of  charity 
for  the  sake  of  the  common  Head  has  since  been  reaped; 
and  the  latest  reapings  have  been  richest.  Never  and 
nowhere  have  the  fruits  of  Divine  love,  in  the  form  of 
help  to  the  needy,  grown  so  great  as  in  the  wake  of  great 
Avars  lately  waged  on  the  far-separated  continents  of 
America  and  Europe.  As  the  prospect  of  famine  in 
Judaea  drew  out  the  love  of  Christians  at  Antioch,  and 
exhibited  in  the  love  of  brethren  a  glory  to  the  Lord,  so 
the  great  wars  of  recent  times  have  generated  a  self- 
sacrificing  helpfulness  that  has,  both  for  its  quantity  and 
its  quality,  become  the  wonder  of  the  world. 

The  power  of  Christ's  love  was  made  peculiarly  mani- 
fest in  the  case  of  these  contributions  from  Antioch, 
inasmuch  as  the  contributors  were  mainly  Gentiles,  and 
the  recipients  Jews.     What  hath  the  Lord  wrought  .•' 


Herod   J\\xrs   the   CJnirch.  •        247 

The  sun  has  gone  back  on  the  dial.  Surely  the  parti- 
tion-wall has  at  length  been  broken  down,  and  Gentiles 
and  Jews  flow  softly  into  one. 

Here  too,  in  the  first  springs  of  that  stream  which 
ever  since  has  flowed  to  bless  the  world,  we  learn  one 
of  the  rules  div^inely  prescribed  for  the  management  of 
charities:  Among  the  disciples  (i)  every  man  gave; 
and  (2)  every  man  gave  as  the  result  of  a  deliberate 
determination,  a  spontaneous  act  of  his  own  will;  and 
(3)  every  man  gave  according  to  his  ability.  There 
was  a  measure  to  determine  the  quantity  of  the  gifts; 
and  that  measure  was  the  degree  of  prosperity  that 
God  had  given  to  each.  But  this  measure  was  not 
mechanically  applied  by  any  external  authority:  it  was 
determined  in  every  case  within  the  court  of  con- 
science, and  by  the  contributor's  own  judgment. 

The  love  of  Christ,  in  giving  himself  the  just  for  the 
unjust,  supplied  the  power  which  impelled  the  early 
Christians  into  a  life  of  benevolence;  but  while  in  this 
matter  they  gladly  placed  themselves  under  law  to 
God,  they  refused  to  become  the  servants  of  men. 


LVI. 

HEROD    VEXES   THE   CHURCH. 

"  Nov}  about  that  time  Herod  the  king  stretched  forth  his  hands  to  vex 
certain  of  the  church.  And  he  killed  yames  the  brother  of  John  with  the 
sivord,"  etc. — Acts  xii.  1-8. 

In  the  beginning  of  chapter  xi.  we  learned  that  suffer- 
ings separated  those  who  were  united;  and  so  the  truth 
was  spread:  in  the  end  we  learned  that  sufferings 
united  those  who  were  separated;  and  so,  by  contribu- 
ting food  to  the  Jewish  Christians,  the  Gentile  Christians 
bridged  with  love  the  dividing  gulf,  and  permitted  the 
body  of  Christ  to  flow  into  one. 

When  the  converted  Greeks  at  Antioch  learned  by 
prophecy  that  the  brethren  in  Judsea  would  soon  be  in 


248  TJie   ClmrcJi   in   the  House. 

straits,  they  forthwith  began  to  make  contributions. 
Evidently  they  were  cheerful  givers.  They  would  not 
murmur  when  the  subscription  list  came  round.  They 
counted  it  blessed  to  give,  and  were  ready.  Before  the 
calamity  came,  it  was  provided  for. 

The  scene  changes.  From  Antioch  we  are  con- 
ducted back  to  Jerusalem  again.  After  intimating  that 
the  door  was  opened  among  the  Greeks,  the  historian 
proceeds  to  show  that  it  was  shut  among  the  Jews. 
Indeed,  it  was  the  shutting  of  the  door  at  Jerusalem 
that  opened  it  at  Antioch.  When  one  channel  was 
closed,  the  pent-up  waters  escaped  by  another.  It 
was  the  persecution  at  home  that  drove  the  preachers 
abroad. 

But  now  another  stage  of  the  process  is  exhibited. 
Closer  and  closer  was  the  door  shut  at  Jerusalem; 
wider  and  wider  it  opened  toward  the  Greeks.  By  his 
apostles,  as  well  as  in  his  own  personal  ministry, 
Christ  came  unto  his  own,  and  his  own  received  him 
not. 

The  king  who  appears  here  is  Herod  Agrippa, 
grandson  of  Herod  Antipater  who  slew  the  infants  of 
Bethlehem,  and  son  of  Herod  Antipas  who  beheaded 
the  Baptist.  He  was  mild  in  his  natural  temper,  but 
fond  of  popularity.  He  persecuted  the  Christians  not 
of  his  own  motion,  but  to  please  the  Jews.  Hence 
the  rejection  of  Messiah  lies  articulately  on  the  Jew- 
ish people  and  their  priests.  To  please  them,  Pilate 
delivered  Jesus  to  be  crucified;  to  please  them,  Her- 
od Agrippa  killed  James,  the  brother  of  John,  with  the 
sword. 

Hitherto  the  lives  of  the  faithful  apostles  had  been 
preserved.  Like  Daniel  in  the  lions'  den,  they  had 
been  kept  from  the  power  of  their  enemies.  The 
Lord  reigneth;  and  for  a  time  he  threw  a  shield  round 
the  chiefs  of  the  infant  Church.  While  the  flax  is  only  ^, 
smoking,  he  will  not  permxit  a  blast  to  blow  on  it,  lest 
the  feeble  life  should  be  quenched;  but  when  the  fire 
has  gained  some  head,  he  allows  the  blast  to  come, 
that  it  may  be  fanned  into  a  greater  flame. 

Keeping  Judas  out  of  view,  this  is  the  first  breach 
in  the  apostolic  circle.  They  had  in  some  measure 
learned  to  walk  by  faith,  and  even  the  fall  of  an  apos- 


Herod   \^cxcs   tJie   Cliiirch.  249 

tie  will  not  crush  them  now.  In  the  case  of  James, 
the  Lord  shows  that  he  will  not  always  interfere  to 
protect  his  servants  from  their  enemies;  and  in  the 
case  of  Peter,  he  shows  that  he  will  interfere  some- 
times, lest  the  spirit  should  fail  before  him,  and  the 
souls  that  he  has  made.  He  will  not  suffer  his  people 
to  be  tempted  above  that  they  are  able  to  bear. 

The  first  martyrdom  in  the  apostolic  college  marks 
for  us  a  law  of  the  kingdom.  It  illustrates  the  mean- 
ing of  Messiah's  word,  "  My  kingdom  is  not  of  this 
world  !  "  Not  an  inch  of  this  world's  surface  will  Christ 
maintain  for  himself  by  the  sword.  The  kingdoms  of 
this  world  will  one  day  be  all  his;  but  they  will  be  sub- 
dued by  the  sword  of  the  Spirit.  It  was  Antichrist 
that  gathered  mercenaries  from  many  lands  to  sustain 
the  Roman  bishop's  throne,  and  crush  the  liberty  of 
the  Roman  people. 

Observing  that  no  Divine  power  was  put  forth  either 
to  protect  James  or  avenge  his  death,  this  weak  and 
unjust  king  ventured  a  step  further  in  the  same  course. 
Finding  that  one  murder  procured  him  favor  with  the 
Jewish  people,  he  determined  to  perpetrate  another. 
Peter  was  designated  as  the  next  victim.  He  was  ar- 
rested and  imprisoned.  The  plan  of  the  persecutor 
was  to  gratify  the  people  by  a  public  trial  and  public 
execution  of  the  most  distinguished  follower  of  Jesus. 

But  the  remainder  of  the  king's  wrath  it  pleased  God 
in  this  instance  to  restrain.  To  this  raging  sea  the  word 
of  its  Maker  came,  "  Hitherto  shalt  thou  come,  but  no 
further." 

"  Peter  therefore  was  kept  in  prison;  but  prayer  was 
made,"  etc.  This  is  a  remarkable  antithesis.  Man  pro- 
poses, but  God  disposes;  and  the  prayer  of  faith  reaches 
the  Disposer's  hand.  James  was  suddenly  seized  and 
taken  off;  but  in  Peter's  case  there  was  time  for  the 
whole  Church  to  unite  in  their  prayer  for  his  preserva- 
tion. God  in  providence  opened  a  door  of  opportunity 
through  Herod's  desire  to  keep  all  quiet  till  after  the 
Passover;  the  Church  eagerly  entered  that  door.  They 
"inquired"  by  a  concert  of  prayer;  and  God  in  heaven 
was  "  inquired  of"  by  them  to  do  it  for  them. 

Four  times  four  soldiers  were  employed  to  guard 
the  prisoner.     The  night  was  divided  into  four  watches* 


250  The   CI  lurch   iii,   the  House. 

and   four   watched   at   one   time — two  chained    to   the 
prisoner,  and  two  on  guard  at  the  prison-door. 

On  the  morrow  Herod  meant  to  bring  the  victim 
out,  for  he  will  politically  or  hypocritically  comply  with 
the  rule  that  no  trial  should  take  place  on  the  feast- 
day.  As  soon  as  the  service  of  God  shall  be  over,  we 
shall  gratify  the  mob  with  the  shedding  of  innocent 
blood  !  On  the  morrow  !  It  seems  a  thin  veil  of  one' 
night's  darkness  that  hangs  between  these  wild  beasts 
and  their  prey,  that  hangs  between  these  suppliant 
disciples  in  John  Mark's  house  and  their  great  bereave- 
ment. The  prayer-meeting  is  prolonged  into  the  night 
— is  prolonged  to  the  morning.  A  mighty  pressure  is 
then  brought  to  bear  on  the  door  of  the  kingdom — on 
the  heart  of  the  King.  This  is  the  violence  that  takes 
the  kingdom  by  force.  The  pressure  increases  as  the 
night  wears  on,  and  at  last  prevails.  The  Lord  within 
the  veil  loved  to  feel  that  strain.  He  delights  to  an- 
swer such  a  cry. 

Peter,  meanwhile,  was  sleeping.  That  sleep  was  the 
triumph  of  faith.  Peter's  sleep  in  the  prison  that  night 
was  as  much  glory  to  God  as  his  wakefulness  would 
have  been,  although  he  had  sung  psalms  till  the  rafters 
rang  again.  Peter  slept  in  Gethsemane,  with  the  two 
brothers,  on  the  night  of  the  Master's  supreme  agony. 
Then  he  slept  through  weakness  of  the  flesh;  now  and 
here  he  sleeps  through  the  strength  of  his  faith.  There 
he  slept  through  weariness,  although  his  Lord  was  en- 
during agony;  here  he  sleeps  in  confidence,  because 
his  Lord  was  exalted  to  the  throne  of  heaven,  mind- 
ful and  mighty  to  protect  his  own. 

Argyle's  sleep,  an  incident  in  Scottish  history,  com- 
memorated by  art  in  the  Legislative  Hall  of  Westmin- 
ster, shines  out  as  a  bright  particular  star  among  the 
honored  deeds  of  our  ancestors  in  a  heroic  age.  The 
deep,  placid  sleep  of  the  innocent  Scottish  noble  on 
the  morning  of  his  martyrdom  was  a  better  testimony 
to  his  valor  than  any  that  could  have  been  borne  on 
the  battle-field. 

Here  is  a  precious  lesson  for  disciples  in  this  latter 
end  of  the  world.  How  sweet  it  is  to  lie  down  every 
night,  reconciled  to  God  in  Christ,  and  at  peace,  ready, 
if  the  Lord  should  so  will,  to  awake  in  the  eternal  world  ! 


Herod  Vexes   the   Chiircli.  25 1 

This  privilege  need  not  be  the  rare  attainment  of  a  few; 
for  it  is  offered  as  free  as  the  air  to  all.  "  Whosoever 
will,  let  him  come."  "  Come  unto  me,  all  ye  that  labor 
and  are  heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest." 


'  The  apostle  sleeps;  a  light  shines  in  the  prison, 

An  angel  touched  his  side: 
Arise,  he  said;  and  quickly  lie  hath  risen. 
His  fettered  arms  untied. 


'  The  watchmen  saw  no  light  at  midnight  gleaming,  • 

They  heard  no  sound  of  feet: 
The  gates  fly  open,  and  the  saint,  still  dreaming. 
Stands  free  upon  the  street. 


"So,  when  the  Christian's  eyelid  droops  and  closes 
In  Nature's  parting  strife, 
A  friendly  angel  stands,  where  he  reposes, 
To  wake  him  up  to  life. 


"  He  gives  a  gentle  blow,  and  so  releases 
The  spirit  from  its  clay; 
From  sin's  temptations,  and  from  life's  distresses, 
He  bids  it  come  away. 

"It  rises  up,  and  from  its  darksome  mansion 
It  takes  its  silent  flight. 
And  feels  its  freedom  in  the  large  expansion 
Of  heavenly  air  and  light. 


•♦  Behind,  it  hears  Time's  iron  gates  close  faintly, — 
It  is  now  far  from  them; 
For  it  has  reached  the  city  of  the  saintly. 
The  New  Jerusalem." 

J.  D.  Burns. 


252  The   Church   in  the  House. 

LVII. 

ANTIOCH  OCCUPIED  FOR   CHRIST. 

"And  Herod  was  Jiighly  displeased  with  them  of  Tyre  and  Si  J  on:  but 
they  came  with  one  accord  to  him,  and  having  7nade  Blastns  the  king's 
chamberlain  their  friend,  desired  peace;  because  their  country  was  nour- 
ished by  the  king's  country.  And  tipoit  a  set  day  Herod,  arrayed  in 
royal  apparel,  sat  upon  his  throne,  and  made  an  oration  unto  them," 
etc. — Acts  xu.  20-25;  ^m-  ^• 

The  account  of  Herod's  death,  introduced  into  the  nar- 
rative, accords  in  all  main  points  with  the  statements 
of  Josephus.  He  had  removed  his  residence  from  Jeru- 
salem to  Caesarea,  that  he  might  be  on  the  sea-coast, 
and  in  closer  communication  with  Rome.  On  the 
occasion  of  a  grand  assembly,  connected  with  an  em- 
bassy from  the  commercial  communities  of  Tyre  and 
Sidon,  he  entered  the  theatre  in  his  robes  of  state.  His 
royal  robes,  studded  with  precious  stones,  glittered  in 
the  sun  as  he  moved,  and  the  obsequious  multitude 
shouted,  ascribing  Divine  honors  to  their  idol,  accord- 
ing to  the  custom  of  Roman  mobs.  The  judgment  of 
God  fell  upon  the  frail  mortal,  and  he  died  soon  after 
of  a  most  loathsome  disease. 

So  died  the  persecutor;  "but  the  word  of  God  grew 
and  multiplied."  This  precious  note  is  inserted  in  the 
history  for  comfort  to  the  Church  in  time  of  trouble. 
Fear  not,  little  flock;  greater  is  he  that  is  for  you,  than 
all  that  are  against  you.  The  word,  a  living  power,  had 
free  course  through  the  nations  when  the  feeble  monarch 
who  attempted  to  quench  it  lay  in  his  grave.  Thus  Pha- 
raoh and  his  army  sank  in  the  sea,  while  Israel,  eman- 
cipated, praised  the  Lord  and  resumed  their  march. 

If  the  princes  and  peoples  of  the  earth  should  combine 
in  an  effort  to  destroy  all  the  grain  that  exists — to  stamp 
out  the  staff  of  life — they  would  not  succeed.  The  seed 
has  life  in  itself.  Some  of  it,  as  the  destroyers  bore  it 
to  their  bonfires,  would  be  spilt  upon  the  ground,  and 
be  lost  to  view.  The  lost  would  live  and  spring.  From 
its  resurrection  a  manifold  return  would  be  obtained; 
and  the  fields  would  be  sown  and  ripen — seed-time  and 


Autioch occupied  for   Christ.  253 

harvest  would  follow  each  other,  after  the  foolish  ex- 
terminators had  returned  to  the  dust.  In  like  manner 
the  efforts  of  persecutors  have  proved  abortive;  they 
have  not  been  able  to  extinguish  the  word  of  life.  God 
has  secured  that  there  shall  be  seed  to  the  sower  and 
bread  to  the  eater,  both  in  the  temporal  and  spiritual 
spheres,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world. 

"The  word  grew:"  the  expression  is  general;  but  in 
point  of  fact  the  widespread  result  was  made  up  of  many 
individual  conversions,  as  a  river  is  composed  of  many 
drops  all  obeying  the  same  law.  In  ten  thousand 
separate  seeds  the  word  fell  into  ten  thousand  separate 
hearts,  and  each  heart,  rent  for  receiving  the  seed,  was 
further  rent  by  the  seed,  when  it  swelled  and  grew. 
There  is  no  wholesale  spiritual  growth.  The  wide  re- 
vival consists  of  many  persons,  each  of  them  separately 
renewed  in  the  Spirit. 

Barnabas  and  Saul  returned  to  Antioch.  There  is 
great  significance  in  the  going  and  coming  of  these 
messengers.  These  are  the  couriers  of'the  Great  King, 
carrying  his  commands  from  province  to  province  of  his 
realm.  First,  they  carried  from  Antioch  a  contribution 
to  sustain  the  Christians  of  Jewish  origin  at  Jerusalem 
tlirough  the  famine.  That  gift  was  well  fitted  as  an 
instrument  to  remove  barriers,  and  unite  Greeks  and 
Jews  in  the  common  faith.  From  Jerusalem,  and  from 
Jews,  came  forth  the  spiritual  things  wherewith  the 
Gentiles  at  Antioch  were  enriched;  they  only  obey  a 
law  of  the  kingdom  when  they  load  the  returning  train 
with  temporal  gifts  for  Christian  Jews  in  Jerusalem. 
Such  reciprocal  charities  were  eminently  fitted  to  break 
down  the  partition-walls,  and  blend  all  believers  into 
one. 

By  this  time  the  Christian  leaders  were  aware  of 
the  importance  of  Antioch.  They  determined  to  oc- 
cupy it  for  the  work  of  the  kingdom.  Foreseeing  the 
expansion  of  missionary  work  both  in  and  from  the 
capital,  Barnabas  and  Saul  induced  John  Mark  to  ac- 
company them  and  share  their  labor.  He  was  the  son 
of  Mary,  sister  of  Barnabas,  in  whose  house  the  prayer- 
meeting  was  held  while  Peter  was  in  prison,  and  to 
whose  house  Peter  went  when  he  was  free.  This  young 
man  would  go  to  Antioch  probably  in  two  capacities, 


254  '^^^^   CJiurch  in  the  House. 

— both  as  an  assistant  to  the  elder  missionaries,  and 
as  a  witness  of  their  work,  who  might  afterwards  give 
evidence  in  Jerusalem  regarding  its  character. 

On  the  return  of  the  deputation  from  Jerusalem, 
the  College  of  Evangelists  was  constituted  at  Antioch. 
Excluding  John  Mark  as  a  junior  and  a  new-comer,  it 
consisted  of  five  members.  Besides  the  two  mission- 
aries already  introduced  to  our  notice,  there  were 
"Simeon  that  was  called  Niger,  and  Lucius  of  Cy- 
rene,  and  Manaen  which  had  been  brought  up  with 
Herod  the  tetrarch."  The  note  attached  to  the  name 
of  this  man  is  full  of  interest.  He  was  foster-fellow  of 
that  Herod  who  slew  the  Baptist,  and  set  at  nought 
the  Lord  on  the  morning  of  his  death. 

Manaen  thus  seems  to  be  another  Moses  drawn  out 
of  the  water.  Brought  up  in  the  company  of  an  un- 
godly and  licentious  prince,  he  was  nevertheless  chosen 
as  an  object  of  mercy,  and  employed  as  a  messenger  of 
grace.  Perhaps,  like  Moses,  he  had  it  in  his  power  to 
obtain  and  keep  a  position  near  the  throne;  but,  like 
Moses,  he  esteemed  the  reproach  of  Christ  greater 
riches  than  the  treasures  of  Egypt.  We  have  no  ac- 
count of  his  conversion;  but,  whatever  may  have  been 
its  date  and  its  circumstances,  it  is  certain  that  when 
he  became  a  disciple  of  Christ  he  no  longer  set  any 
value  on  his  connection  with  Herod's  house. 

The  power  and  sovereignty  of  grace  are  frequently 
displayed  in  choosing  one  from  the  steps  of  a  throne, 
and  making  him  a  vessel  to  bear  the  name  of  Christ. 
Manaen  was  snatched  from  the  side  of  a  murderer,  and 
numbered  among  the  saints  of  the  Most  High.  His 
name  was  blotted  from  the  family  register  of  the  te- 
trarch, and  written  in  the  Lamb's  book  of  life.  Those 
who  have  been  saved,  as  it  were  by  fire, — who  have 
been  arrested  and  won  in  spite  of  the  strong  man's 
greatest  efforts  to  keep  his  goods  in  peace,  have  pe- 
culiar delight  in  looking  back  over  the  way  by  which 
the  Lord  has  led  them.  On  the  other  hand,  those 
who  remain  in  Herod's  house,  entangled  by  its  business 
and  gains,  should  learn  from  this  case  that  they  are 
welcome  to  Christ.  It  was  a  true  word  that  fell  from 
lying  lips,  when  the  Pharisees  murmured,  "  This  man 
receiveth  sinners."     Whosoever  will,  let  him  come. 


TJic  first  Foreign  Mission. — Cyprus.  255 

There  is  scarcely  a  congregation  of  believers  that 
lacks  its  Manaen,  highly  esteemed  now  as  a  brother 
in  the  Lord,  who  seemed  destined  in  his  earlier  years 
as  devotee  and  victim  to  the  pleasures  of  sin.  It  is  a 
peculiar  delight  to  the  Christian  brotherhood,  and  a 
peculiar  glory  to  Divine  grace,  when  one  who  has  been 
brought  up  for  the  world,  is  snatched  from  the  world, 
and  admitted  as  an  heir  of  the  new  kingdom.  It  is 
sweet  to  see  the  children  of  Christian  parents  born  to 
the  Lord,  in  their  childhood,  through  means  of  a  pious 
nurture;  but  it  is  perhaps  more  gladdening  and  inspir- 
ing to  see  the  goings  of  the  Lord,  when  he  puts  forth 
his  power  to  wrench  subjects  from  the  god  of  this 
world,  and  make  them  princes  round  his  own  throne. 


LVIII. 

THE  FIRST  FOREIGN  MISSION.-CYFRUS. 

"As  they  ministered  to  the  Lord,  and  fasted,  the  Holy  Ghost  said, 
Separate  vie  Barnabas  and  Saul  for  the  7Vork  7U hereunto  I  have  called 
them.  And  when  they  had  fasted  and  prayed,  and  laid  their  hands  on 
them,  tJiey  sent  them  away,''''  etc. — ACTS  XIII.  2-12. 

"As  they  ministered  to  the  Lord  and  fasted,  the  Holy 
Ghost  said.  Separate  me  Barnabas  and  Saul  for  the 
work  whereunto  I  have  called  them."  While  they 
were  enjo}'ing  privileges  for  themselves,  they  heard 
the  command  to  carry  these  privileges  to  others.  Be- 
hold the  natural  history  of  missions  !  Freely  ye  have 
received,  freely  give.  They  possessed  the  gospel,  and 
therefore  they  must  spread  it  abroad. 

Two  were  sent  out  together.  They  remembered 
the  act  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  how  he  sent  out  the  seventy 
in  pairs,  and  they  will  follow  his  example.  The  min- 
istry of  the  Spirit  is  sovereign  here  on  every  side.  An- 
tioch  is  chosen  as  the  first  sight  of  a  Gentile  Church, 
and  consequently  becomes  the  starting-point  for  the 
first  foreign  mission.  The  same  features  that  com- 
mended  the  place  to  Imperial   Rome  as  the  Eastern 


2^6  The   CJmrcJi   in   tJic  House. 

capital,  commended  it  to  the  apostles  of  the  Lord  as 
the  head-quarters  of  the  kingdom  that  is  not  of  this 
world.  Situated  in  the  East,  it  enjoyed,  by  the  Oron- 
tes  and  the  Mediterranean,  easy  access  to  Greece  and 
Rome.  From  this  great  mart  the  glad  tidings  will  be 
borne  along  with  the  stream  of  commerce  to  the  na- 
tions of  Africa  and  Europe. 

The  men  chosen  for  foreign  work  in  accordance  with 
the  mind  of  the  Spirit,  were  the  mightiest  men.  They 
did  not  send  out  some  persons  who  had  turned  out 
useless  at  home.  The  foreign  field  always  needs,  and 
in  that  age  actually  obtained,  the  ablest  laborers.  I 
suspect  the  chief  obstacle  to  the  success  of  modern 
missions  lies  here.  The  Church  at  Antioch  sent  the 
cream  of  the  ministry  abroad;  if  they  had  sent  the 
grounds,  their  success  would  have  corresponded  to 
their  effort.  Here  and  there  in  our  own  time,  when 
the  Spirit  has  descended  in  power,  some  men  mighty  in 
word  and  deed  have  taken  the  field,  and  the  result  has 
been  a  gain  corresponding  to  the  outlay;  but  it  is  the 
grief  and  the  weakness  of  the  Church  at  the  present 
day  that  her  chiefs  are  for  the  most  part  occupied  at 
home. 

They  sent  Barnabas  and  Saul.  Barnabas  had  al- 
ready been  tried,  and  found  faithful.  His  gravity,  his 
authority,  and  his  benevolence  seemed  to  point  him 
out  as  leader  of  the  expedition.  But  they  have  at 
hand  this  young  man  Saul — a  man  of  vast  knowledge, 
of  fiery  zeal,  of  great  courage,  and  unflagging  perse- 
verance, but  withal  not  much  tried  and  not  much 
known..  Send  him  out  under  the  direction  and  influ- 
ence of  Barnabas,  that  his  great  talents  may  be 
turned  to  the  best  account.  Soon  shall  the  whole 
Church  know  that  the  Lord  has  destined  this  man  for 
the  foremost  place.  When  the  pair  departed  it  was 
Barnabas  and  Saul;  when  they  returned  it  was  Paul 
and  Barnabas. 

Westward  the  expedition  moved.  Europe  must  be 
won  to  Christ.  The  light  of  life,  like  the  natural  sun, 
travels  from  the  East. 

The  two  missionaries  were  solemnly  ordained  to 
their  specific  work,  and  set  out  on  their  journey. 
Whether  by  land  or  by  the  river,  they  first  travelled  to 


TJic  first  Forcig)i  Mission. — Cyprus.  257 

Seleucia,  the  sea-port  of  Antioch,  on  the  Mediterrane- 
an, and  taking  ship  at  that  port,  they  crossed  over  to 
C}'prus,  the  nearest  of  the  large  isLands. 

Having  landed  at  Salamis,  a  town  on  the  eastern 
side  of  Cyprus,  they  crossed  the  country  without  much 
delay  or  much  success  until  they  reached  Paphos,  the 
residence  of  the  Roman  governor,  on  the  western  shore. 
This  was  a  place  notorious  for  its  licentiousness  even 
in  that  age.  It  was  the  shrine  of  impurity  for  the 
heathen  world.  There  the  unclean  spirit  had  his  seat. 
These  soldiers  of  Jesus  Christ,  in  their  first  campaign, 
marched  right  up  to  the  capital  of  the  enemy's 
kingdom. 

Among  Roman  provinces  Cyprus  was  small.  The 
governor  held  not  the  highest  rank.  One  may  suppose 
he  was  disappointed  when  he  learned  that  this  compar- 
atively insignificant  sphere  was  assigned  to  him,  and 
envied  the  better  fortune  of  competitors  who  obtained 
Gaul  and  Spain.  He  lived,  however,  to  thank  God  for 
the  providence  that  cast  his  lot  in  Cyprus.  He  did  not 
enjoy  so  large  a  salary  as  the  chief  of  a  richer  province, 
but  he  obtained  through  the  missionaries  a  greater 
treasure. 

This  governor  was  a  prudent  man.  He  was  thought- 
ful and  sober.  He  was  probably  dissatisfied  with  the 
worn-out  superstitions  of  idolatry,  and  longing  for 
something  solid  on  which  his  soul  might  lean.  It  is 
probable  he  asked  Pilate's  question,  "What  is  truth  ^ 
with  an  earnestness  that  Pilate  never  knew.  Alas  ! 
when  people  in  high  places  become  earnest  inquirers, 
false  teachers  swarm  around  them  like  flies,  eager  to 
suck  sustenance  from  the  wounds  of  the  great.  The 
governor  had  at  this  time  in  his  train  a  certain  fortune- 
teller, who  called  himself  Elymas — that  is,  "the  wise," 
for  the  root  in  Arabic  seems  to  be  the  same  as  the 
Turkish  ulemah,  or  priest.  This  man's  own  Hebrew 
name  was  Bar-jesus,  "  son  of  the  Saviour."  He  pre- 
tended, through  soothsaying  art,  to  cure  the  ailment 
of  the  governor's  spirit;  and  poor  Sergius,  precisely  be- 
cause he  was  ailing  in  spirit,  had  not  force  to  throw  off 
the  incubus.  The  mountebank  stuck  to  the  governor, 
and  fattened  on  his  wealth.  When  the  missionaries 
from  Antioch  reached  the  city,  and  opened  their  com- 


258  The   ChurcJi   iji   tJw  Huiise. 

mission  by  preaching  Christ,  the  governor  sent  a  mes- 
sage to  summon  them  to  his  court,  that  he  might  hear 
their  doctrines.  They  willingly  obeyed  the  summons, 
and  presented  themselves  at  the  palace. 

But  the  sorcerer,  fearing  lest  his  own  influence  should 
be  destroyed,  endeavored  to  prevent  the  governor  from 
listening  to  the  gospel,  or  to  hinder  him  from. receiving, 
if  he  had  already  heard  it.  How  eagerly  the  modern 
sorceress,  who  sits  on  the  seven  hills,  strives  to  hinder 
a  meeting  between  human  souls  and  Christ  in  his  Word  ! 

At  this  stage  we  would  be  apt  to  say.  What  a  pity 
that  Elymas  was  on  the  spot  to  interfere  with  the  good 
work  when  the  Christian  missionaries  obtained  an  op- 
portunity of  preaching  to  the  ruling  classes  at  the  cap- 
ital !  Nay;  He  doeth  all  things  well.  As  Christ  said 
when  Lazarus  died,  "  I  am  glad  for  your  sakes  that  I 
was  not  there;  "  so  he  might  say,  in  the  case  of  Sergius 
Paulus,  "  I  am  glad  for  his  sake  that  Elymas  was  there 
with  his  sorceries,  seeking  to  turn  away  the  deputy  from 
the  faith:"  for  the  efforts  of  the  sorcerer  to  turn  him 
away  were  overruled  as  the  means  of  bringing  him 
near.  If  Elymas  with  his  wicked  arts  had  not  been 
there,  it  is  probable  that  the  governor  would  not  have 
been  converted.  In  his  later  experience,  Paul  became 
well  aware  that  the  opposition  by  adversaries  is  often  an 
essential  means  of  success.  On  one  occasion,  reporting 
a  very  favorable  opportunity  for  conducting  his  work, 
he  describes  it  by  two  features — a  wide  door,  and  viany 
adversaries.  He  seems  to  intimate  that  one  of  these 
two  factors  alone  would  not  have  constituted  the  op- 
portunity which  he  valued  and  enjoyed.  Both  were 
needed.  If  there  had  not  been  a  fierce  wind  blowing 
against  his  kite,  it  would  not  have  been  able  to  rise. 
The  experienced  missionary  accordingly  was  glad  of 
the  storm. 

Who  shall  tell  whether  the  sermon  would  not  have 
fallen  flat  on  sleepy  ears,  and  whether  the  governor 
would  not  have  yawned  the  preacher  away  to  make 
room  for  some  new  excitement,  if  the  opposition  of 
Elymas  had  not  arrested  his  attention,  and  the  judg- 
ment on  Elymas  had  not  struck  him  with  astonishment. 
All  things  wrought  for  good:  the  things  that  happened 
then  and  there  turned  to  the  furtherance  of  the  gospel. 


TJie  first  Foreign  Mission. — Cyprus.  259 

Here  first  the  name  Paul  appears;  and  Saul  is  not 
employed  again,  except  in  narratives  of  his  earlier  ex- 
perience. Here,  under  his  new  name,  Paul  springs  to 
the  frojit,  and  he  is  never  found  in  the  second  rank 
again.  Now,  first,  he  is  fully  installed  into  office  as  the 
Apostle  of  the  Gentiles.  It  is  in  his  short,  sharp  rebuke 
of  Elymas  that  he  reads  himself  in. 

In  allusion  to  the  meaning  of  the  sorcerer's  name, 
"son  of  the  Saviour,"  the  apostle  sternly  denounces 
him  as  a  "child  of  the  devil;"  and  through  inspiration 
speaks  the  sentence  which  God  inflicts — the  sentence 
of  temporary  blindness.  This  judgment  falling  on  the 
adversary,  convinced  Sergius  that  Paul  and  Barnabas 
were  men  of  God,  and  made  him  reverently  listen  to 
their  word.  "  Then  the  deputy,  when  he  saw  what  was 
done,  believed,  being  astonished  at  the  doctrine  of  the 
Lord."  What  was  done  could  not  have  enlightened 
and  renewed  the  Roman;  but  it  opened  his  mind  for 
the  reception  of  the  word  of  life.  Thus  the  Lord  in 
providence  at  this  day  employs  judgment-strokes  of 
many  different  kinds  to  open  a  path  for  the  gospel  into 
hearts  that  otherwise  would  have  remained  closed. 
Welcome  the  Lord's  hand,  even  though  its  stroke  be 
painful,  when  it  prepares  the  way  for  the  Lord's  word  ! 
If  we  had  access  to  the  great  multitude  who  stand 
round  the  throne  in  white  clothing,  and  could  ask  each 
saved  saint  to  tell  his  own  experience,  probably  nine 
out  of  every  ten  would  answer  that  providence,  gener- 
ally feared  and  fretted  at,  came  crushing  forward  first, 
and  broke  up  a  way  for  grace  to  follow. 

The  judgments  of  the  Lord's  hand  opened  a  way 
into  the  heart  of  Sergius  for  the  Lord's  word.  That 
word,  when  it  entered,  filled  him  with  wonder.  "  He 
w:as  astonished  at  the  doctrine  of  the  Lord."  After 
the  storm  and  thunder,  the  "  still  small  voice  "  asserted 
its  power.  The  story  of  the  cross  was  a  new  thing  to 
the  Roman.  It  was  not  like  the  doctrine  of  the  Greek 
philosophers:  it  was  not  like  the  doctrine  of  the  Jewish 
soothsayer.  These  missionaries  told  the  governor  that 
God  is  love,  and  that  he  so  loved  the  world  that  he 
gave  his  only  Son  to  save  the  lost.  They  told  him 
that  God,  in  our  nature,  had  given  himself  a  sacrifice, 
the  just  for  the  unjust.     As  this  doctrine  fell  en  the 


26o  TJie   Cliurch  in   the  House. 

governor's  ears,  his  heart  melted.  Felix  trembled, 
and  returned  to  his  sin:  Sergius  trembled,  and  cleaved 
to  Christ.     One  is  taken,  and  another  left. 

Poor  Sergius  had  lived  up  to  this  time  in  a  dark, 
sunless  world.  .He  was  uneasy,  and  knew  not  what 
ailed  him.  He  craved  for  light,  and  yet  knew  not  where 
to  find  it.  We  know  that  he  longed  for  something  to 
satisfy  his  soul,  for  he  kept  the  Jewish  magician  hang- 
ing about  his  court.  He  clutched  a  shadow;  and  this 
showed  at  least  that  he  had  an  appetite  for  the  sub- 
stance. In  his  darkness  he  had  heard  of  this  man's 
pretensions,  and  sent  for  him.  "  Can  you  strike  some 
light  for  us,  stranger  .''  for  we  are  in  darkness  unendur- 
able here.  Give  us  some  light  for  our  souls,  if  you  can, 
by  your  magical  arts."  To  such  a  man,  in  such  a  mood, 
the  doctrine  of  the  Lord,  when  it  was  unfolded,  was 
like  the  sunlight  bursting  through  the  primeval  mist 
upon  a  hitherto  benighted  world.  It  was  sight  to  the 
blind,  and  life  to  the  dead. 


LIX. 

THE   GOSPEL  IN  ASIA   MINOR. 

^^  Now  7uken  Paul  and  his  company  loosed  from  Paphos,  tluy  catne  to 
Perga  in  Paniphylia:  and  John  departing  from  them  returned  to  yeru- 
salem.  But  whett  they  departed  from  Perga,  they  came  to  Antioch  in 
Pisidia,  and  "weiit  into  the  synagogue  on  the  sabbath  day,  and  sat  doivn. 
And  after  the  reading  of  the  lazu  and  the  prophets  the  rulers  of  the  syna- 
gogue sent  tinto  them,  saying,  Ye  men  and  brethren,  if  ye  have  any  zoord 
of  exhortation  for  the  people,  say  on.  Then  Paul  stood  up,  and  beckoning 
zvith  his  hand  said.  Men  of  Israel,  and  ye  that  fear  God,  give  audience, ' ' 
etc. — Acts  xiii.  13-52. 

Paul  had  already  taken  the  lead  in  the  interview  with 
Sergius;  and  he  keeps  it,  now  wdien  the  missionary 
company  take  leave  of  Cyprus,  and  make  for  the  main- 
land of  Asia  Minor. 

The  immediate  reason  why  Cyprus  was  chosen  as 
the  field  of  operation  when  the  mission  first  started  for 
Antioch,    was   probably  the    connection    of  Barnabas 


The   Gospel  in  Asia  Minor.  261 

with  that  island  as  the  place  of  his  birth.  Perhaps  the 
journey  northward  to  the  province  of  Pamphylia  now 
was  in  like  manner  due  to  the  predominance  which 
Paul  had  attained  in  the  councils  of  the  company. 
They  sailed  from  Paphos,  on  the  western  shore  of  Cy- 
prus, to  the  nearest  point  of  the  neighboring  conti- 
nent. The  landing-place  was  not,  indeed,  in  Cilicia, 
Paul's  native  province,  but  it  was  in  the  bordering  ter- 
ritory, and  must  have  been  familiar  to  him  in  his  youth. 

"  Paul  and  his  company  loosed  from  Paphos  and 
came  to  Perga  in  Pamphylia."  The  great  work  is  be- 
gun; the  messengers  run  to  and  fro;  knowledge  of  the 
Lord  is  increased.  Forth  from  Jerusalem  the  word  has 
gone;  and  it  will  never  be  shut  up  within  one  nation 
again.  The  word  has  come  to  the  world;  the  people 
who  sat  in  darkness  saw  a  great  light. 

These  isles  of  Greece  ! — green  spots  that  stud  the 
bosom  of  the  sea,  and  stud  our  memories  too  from 
childhood  with  romantic  associations — we  think  of 
them  as  the  early  home  of  the  arts,  at  a  time  when 
our  country  was  the  hunting-ground  of  barbarians. 
These  isles  of  Greece  ! — we  remember  with  youth's 
enthusiasm,  that  on  the  waters  which  surround  them 
the  battle  of  liberty  was  fought  and  won,  when  the 
small  Greek  communities  broke  the  power  of  the  Per- 
sian monarchy,  as  the  country's  rocky  shores  broke 
the  waves  of  the  Mediterranean. 

But  on  the  page  of  Scripture  a  more  entrancing 
scene  is  displayed.  The  feet  of  the  men  who  pub- 
lish salvation  tread  the  isles  of  Greece,  and  touch  the 
waters  that  lave  its  shores.  These  heralds  proclaim 
to  the  nations  peace  with  God  through  the  one  Media- 
tor. The  barque  that  bore  the  missionaries  of  the 
cross  was  buoyed  up  on  the  same  waters  that  carried 
tiiose  classic  navies  which  bore  back  the  tide  of  inva- 
sion from  their  shores:  but  a  greater  than  classic  fleet 
is  here;  here  a  greater  victory  is  won,  and  a  more  pre- 
cious liberty  achieved.  If  the  Son  make  you  free, 
you  shall  be  free  indeed. 

The  apostle  of  the  Gentiles  is  now  fully  under  way. 
This  is  the  beginning  of  his  course;  and  what  a  course  ! 
No  mere  man  has  left  his  mark  so  deep  and  broad  up- 
on this  world.     No  conqueror,  ancient  or  modern,  can 


262  The   ClnircJi   in   the  House. 

be  compared  with  this  wandering  Jew,  either  as  to  the 
magnitude  or  the  beneficence  of  his  influence  on  the 
character  and  history  of  the  human  race. 

There  is  a  tendency  in  our  day  to  escape  from  some 
of  the  doctrines  which  Paul  has  clearly  expressed  and 
fully  expounded  in  his  epistles.  These  doctrines  are  by 
some  persons  disliked,  and  therefore  disbelieved.  In 
connection  with  this  subject  some  indisputable  facts 
should  be  carefully  noted  and  remembered.  These 
deep  abstract  doctrines  which  Paul  taught — the  doc- 
trines of  justification  by  faith  and  pardon  through  a 
sacrifice — communicated  the  impulse  to  the  greatest 
practical  life  known  to  history.  These  were  the  im- 
pelling motives  of  the  largest  and  most  fruitful  of  human 
lives.  It  was  by  the  proclamation  and  inculcation  of 
these  doctrines  that  the  old  things  of  human  civilization 
were  swept  away  and  all  things  were  made  new.  In 
them  lay  the  power  that  turned  the  world  upside  down. 
Those  who  nibble  at  the  Pauline  dogmas  should  take 
along  with  their  criticisms  the  fact  that  these  dogmas 
have  in  very  deed  put  forth  more  powder  to  mould  the 
character  and  destinies  of  humanity  than  any  or  all 
other  doctrines  put  together. 

As  soon  as  the  missionary  group  reached  the  main- 
land, Mark  left  them,  and  returned  to  Jerusalem.  We 
do  not  exactly  know  his  reasons;  but  we  know  that 
Paul  thought  them  insufficient,  and  publicly  blamed  the 
act.  So  much  did  he  disapprove  of  Mark's  conduct  at 
this  time,  that  at  a  subsequent  stage  he  refused  to  accept 
him  as  a  companion,  although  that  refusal  implied  sep- 
aration from  his  beloved  Barnabas.  Possibly  Mark  may 
have  been  offended  by  the  change  that  had  silently  been 
effected  in  the  leadership  of  the  expedition.  When  he 
left  Antioch  as  the  junior  colleague,  his  uncle  Barnabas 
was  at  its  head;  but  when  he  left  Paphos  the  whole 
group  passed  under  the  designation  of  "Paul  and  his 
company."  Barnabas  himself  was  superior  to  such  jeal- 
ousy; but  it  does  not  follow  that  the  younger  evangelist 
altogether  escaped  the  tinge. 

Leaving  Perga,  on  the  coast,  the  two  elder  mission- 
aries penetrated  to  Antioch  in  Pisidia  —a  much  less 
important  city  than  the  Antioch  from  which  the  expe- 
dition sailed — and   there  opened  their  commission  as 


The  Gospel  in  Asia  Minor.  263 

preachers  of  Christ's  gospel.  They  modestly  entered 
the  synagogue  on  the  Sabbath,  and  sat  down  among 
the  ordinary  worshippers.  The  elders  in  charge  con- 
ducted the  usual  service  in  the  usual  way,  and  then 
sent  a  message  inviting  the  strangers  to  address  the 
assembly. 

Paul  is  the  spokesman  abroad,  as  Peter  had  been  at 
home.  Having  been  led  to  the  proper  place,  he  waved 
his  hand  as  a  token  for  silent  attention,  and  proceeded 
with  his  address. 

Following  the  method  of  Stephen,  which  he  doubtless 
remembered  well,  he  sought  an  entrance  to  the  sanctuary 
of  the  gospel  through  the  vestibule  of  venerated  Hebrew 
history.  When  he  had  carried  his  sketch  down  to  the 
time  of  David,  he  turned  aside  from  the  narrative  and 
plunged  into  his  main  theme— presented  David's  Son  to 
the  faith  of  David's  subjects. 

At  the  close  of  the  sermon,  when  the  bulk  of  the 
congregation  dispersed,  a  band  of  earnest  inquirers, 
partly  Jews,  but  for  the  most  part  Gentiles,  remained 
with  the  missionaries — their  appetites  quickened,  not 
satisfied  by  what  they  had  heard.  Pleasant  excitement 
it  must  have  been  to  these  fishers  for  men  when  they 
felt  many  grasping  and  drawing.  Fuller  explanation 
was  given  in  private  to  all  the  inquirers,  and  a  promise 
made,  in  answer  to  their  eager  request,  that  the  same 
doctrines  would  be  taught  in  the  synagogue  next  Sab- 
bath-day. I  think  those  men  of  Antioch  who  remained 
after  the  sermon  to  converse  with  the  ministers  would 
have  many  thoughts  and  conversations  on  the  subject 
during  the  week.  When  they  came  up  to  the  house  of 
God  next  Sabbath  they  were  sure  of  the  blessing;  for 
the  finding  is,  in  the  Lord's  promise,  made  sure  to  those 
who  seek. 

It  is  remarkable  that  Paul,  though  rejected  by  his 
own  countrymen  at  Jerusalem,  and  sent  out  as  the 
apostle  of  the  Gentiles,  yet  uniformly  addressed  him- 
self first  to  the  Jews  wherever  he  found  them.  He 
maintained  the  spirit  of  the  Lord's  rule,  when  compli- 
ance with  the  letter  was  no  longer  possible, — "begin- 
ning at  Jerusalem."  The  Jews  of  the  dispersion  par- 
ticipated in  the  privilege:  the  first  offer  was  always 
made   to   the    seed    of  Abraham.     In    each    case    the 


264  TJic  Church  in  the  House. 

gospel  was  presented  to  the  heathen  when  it  was 
rejected  by  the  Jews. 

When  the  Greek  inhabitants  of  the  city  came  out 
in  mass  to  hear  the  gospel,  the  Jews  were  envious, 
and  violently  opposed  the  apostles.  In  his  defence 
Paul  quotes  a  promise  (Isa.  xl.  6;  Luke  ii.  32),  calling 
it  a  command.  It  is  eminently  instructive  to  observe 
that  when  God  promises  light  to  the  Gentiles,  Chris- 
tians understand  the  word  as  an  order  to  themselves 
to  spread  the  light  in  the  dark  places  of  the  earth. 
When  God  proclaims  that  the  thing  shall  be  done, 
true  disciples  of  Christ  go  forth  to  do  it.  They  count 
the  promise  a  command,  and  render  themselves  instru- 
ments of  righteousness  unto  God.  The  result  was, 
"  the  word  of  the  Lord  was  published  through  all 
that  region."  They  rightly  understood  the  Scripture, 
"  Work,  for  it  is  God  that  worketh  in  you." 

Besides  appealing  to  the  civic  authorities  against 
the  missionaries,  the  Jews,  in  their  eagerness  to  ob- 
struct the  work,  secretly  enlisted  the  services  of  cer- 
tain women,  high  in  social  position,  and  full  of  super- 
stitious zeal,  to  counteract  the  effects  of  the  preached 
word.  This  is  an  agency  that  has  from  the  begin- 
ning been  sought  and  used  both  for  good  and  for  evil. 
Women  were  employed  by  the  Lord  himself  for  certain 
appropriate  ministries  in  the  establishment  of  his  king- 
dom. But  false  teachers  have  in  all  times  availed  them- 
selves of  the  combined  weakness  and  strength  of  the 
feminine  nature  for  their  own  ends.  They  find  in  many 
women  the  religious  element  strong,  and  the  faculty 
of  judgment  comparatively  weak.  By  the  weak  side 
they  enter  in  and  take  possession;  when  once  in,  they 
wield  the  strong  side  for  their  own  purposes.  The 
Romish  hierarchy  have  always  made  much  of  female 
agency,  and  especially  the  agency  of  women  in  high 
social  rank. 

But  as  Christ  himself  employed  their  tenderness, 
and  patience,  and  perseverance  in  his  own  cause,  he 
has  encouraged  his  disciples  in  all  ages  to  go  and  do 
likewise.  Let  woman  stand  on  her  true  foundation, 
the  family;  and  forth  from  that  citadel  let  her  go  to 
her  daily  task  wherever  the  Lord  hath  need  of  her  ser- 
vice: but  back  to  the  family  let  her  ever  return,  as  to 


Tlie  Gospel  in  Asia  Minor.  265 

her  refu^re  and  rest.  Colonies  of  women,  cut  off  from 
family  relations  and  affections  and  duties,  and  bound 
by  vows,  are  mischievous  to  themselves,  and,  notwith- 
standing superficial  apparent  advantages,  in  the  long- 
run  dangerous  to  the  community.  God  made  the  fam- 
ily; man  made  the  convent.  God's  work  !  behold,  it 
is  v^ery  good;  man's  is  in  this  case  a  snare. 

The  unbelieving  Jews,  through  secret  influence  and 
public  authority  combined,  succeeded  in  driving  the 
missionaries  away  from  Antioch.  On  their  part,  the 
missionaries,  with  the  symbolic  protest  of  shaking 
the  dust  from  their  feet,  made  the  best  of  their  way  to 
Iconium,  filled,  as  they  fled,  "  with  joy  and  with  the 
Holy  Ghost." 

It  is  not  enough  to  say  that  they  were  joyful  al- 
though they  were  persecuted;  for  they  were  joyful 
because  they  were  persecuted.  Suffering  made  them 
glad,  because  it  was  a  distinct  fulfilment  of  their  Mas- 
ter's word.  He  warned  them  that  these  troubles  would 
overtake  them  for  his  name's  sake.  Now  that  they 
have  experience  of  cruel  treatment  at  Antioch,  they 
are  convinced  of  two  things, — that  the  Lord  saw  the 
end  from  the  beginning,  and  that  they  are  on  the  right 
way.  The  way  was  rough  indeed,  but  its  roughness 
was  a  mark  by  which  they  knew  it  to  be  right.  It 
was  a  uniform  experience,  that  wherever  their  word 
told,  enemies  rose  up  against  them.  Wherever  they 
met  with  great  success,  there  they  met  with  great  op- 
position. As  soon  as  the  door  of  opportunity  opened, 
a  crowd  of  adversaries  rushed  in.  This  was  according 
to  law.  Where  the  heaviest  blow  is  dealt  against  his 
kingdom,  there  the  god  of  this  world  gathers  all  his 
forces  for  defence.  When  the  ant's  hill  is  stirred,  the 
busy  little  angry  creatures  rush  out  in  crowds  to  the 
rescue. 

In  this  passage  w^e  read  of  two  distinct  and  oppo- 
site fillings.  The  Jews  were  filled  with  envy;  the  apos- 
tles with  joy.  These  were  tormented  before  the  time 
by  an  evil  spirit  indwelling;  those  enjoyed  a  foretaste 
of  heaven's  happiness  in  the  Holy  Spirit  as  a  spirit  of 
joy  possessing  their  hearts. 

Iconium,  the  place  in  which  the  missionaries  next 
sought  refuge  and  employment,  was  the  nearest  town 


266  The   CJuirch   in  the  House. 

to  the  east,  and  lying  within  the  limits  of  another 
province.  Though  they  had  been  persecuted  at  An- 
tioch  for  preaching  Christ  there,  the  first  thing  they 
did  when  they  reached  Iconium  was  to  preach  Christ. 
The  fire  burned  in  their  breasts,  and  they  could  not  re- 
strain it:  Woe  is  unto  me  if  I  preach  not  the  gospel ! 

They  entered  the  synagogue  as  before,  and  preached 
to  the  congregation  at  the  close  of  the  usual  ser- 
vice. A  rumor  regarding  the  extraordinary  power  of 
their  preaching  had  preceded  them,  and  accordingly 
a  great  miscellaneous  crowd  of  Jews  and  Greeks  were 
assembled  to  hear.  Again  the  immediate  result  was 
the  conversion  of  many,  both  Jews  and  Greeks.  The 
high  and  broad  partition  that  divided  these  classes  was 
giving  way.  That  mountain  had  begun  to  flow  down 
at  the  presence  of  the  Lord. 


LX. 

ONCE    WAS  I  STONED. 

"  And  it  came  to  pass  in  Iconium,  that  they  went  both  together  into  the 
ivnagogue  of  the  ye'ivs,  and  so  spake,  that  a  great  multitude  both  of  the 
fews  and  also  of  the  Greeks  believed.  But  the  unbelieziitig  Je^vs  stirred 
up  the  Gentiles,  and  made  their  minds  evil  affected  against  the  brethren. 
Long  time  therefore  abode  they  speaking  boldly  in  the  Lord  which  gave 
testimony  unto  the  word  of  his  grace,  and  granted  signs  and  wonders  to 
le  done  by  their  hands.  But  the  ??uiltitude  of  the  city  tuas  divided:  and 
fart  held  with  the  fews,  and  part  with  the  apostles.  And  when  there 
was  an  assault  made  both  of  the  Gentiles,  and  also  of  the  Jews  luith  their 
rulers,  to  use  them  despitefully,  and  to  stone  them,  they  were  ware  of  it, 
and  fled  unto  Lystra  and  Derbe,  cities  of  Lycaonia,  and  unto  the  re- 
gioti  that  lieth  round  about:  and  there  they  preached  the  gospel,''''  etc.— 
Acts  xiv.  1-2  i. 

An  intimation  occurs  here,  worthy  of  careful  regard  by 
all  who  undertake  any  work  for  Christ's  kingdom, — 
"They  so  spake  that  a  great  multitude  believed."  We 
are  often  warned  that  the  power  of  the  gospel  does 
not  depend  on  excellency  of  speech,  or  man's  wisdom 
— that  the  harvest  is  due  to  the  vitality  of  the  seed  on 
the  one  hand,  and  the  sun  and  rain  of  heaven  on  the 


Once  7vas  J  Stoned.  267 

other,  not  to  the  sower's  skill.  All  this  is  true;  and 
}-et  it  remains  that,  by  Divine  appointment,  the  in- 
strument has  a  place,  and  the  result  is  to  some  extent 
affected  by  the  manner  in  which  the  ministry  is  con- 
ducted. 

It  is  expressly  announced  that  the  manner  in  which 
the  word  was  preached  had  something  to  do  with  the 
numbers  who  believed  in  Iconium.  All  preaching 
that  is  equally  orthodox  and  faithful  is  not  equally 
successful.  The  preacher  should  publish  the  gospel 
in  "acceptable  words;"  and  acceptable  words  should 
be  "  sought  out "  by  careful  study,  if  they  do  not  readily 
leap  to  the  lips.  There  must  be  labor,  and  skill,  and 
perseverance;  there  must  be  the  exhibition  of  human 
tenderness,  as  well  as  the  possession  of  secret  faith. 
We  should  ply  the  work  of  winning  as  if  all  depended  on 
our  own  exertions;  and  yet  cry  to  the  Lord  for  power, 
as  if  we  could  do  nothing.  When  it  is  intimated  that 
the  apostles  so  preached  that  a  great  multitude  be- 
lieved, great  honor  is  put  on  the  ministry,  and  great 
responsibility  on  the  minister.  In  particular,  it  does 
not  become  any  minister  of  Christ  to  fling  out  the  chal- 
lenge hard  and  dry  to  his  audience, — Accept  this  mes- 
sage or  reject  it;  if  you  reject  it  you  perish,  and  your 
blood  will  be  upon  your  own  heads.  It  may  be  nec- 
essary to  give  that  challenge,  but  he  should  give  it 
"weeping:"  if  the  expression  of  it  do  not  rend  the 
speaker's  heart,  it  is  not  likely  to  melt  the  hearts  of 
the  hearers. 

The  native  heathen  did  not  take  the  initiative  in  per- 
secuting the  apostles;  they  remained  passive,  until  they 
were  instigated  to  action  by  the  more  positive  enmity 
of  the  Jews.  Instead  of  being  intimidated  by  the  com- 
bined opposition  of  Greeks  and  Hebrews,  the  preachers 
of  the  gospel  remained  longer  and  spoke  more  boldly  be- 
cause the  enmity  was  redoubled.  They  spoke  boldly 
"  in  the  Lord,"  and  so  they  were  enabled  to  speak  boldly 
for  the  Lord.     Their  courage  sprang  from  their  faith. 

There  was  a  division  among  the  people,  and  a  com- 
motion in  the  city.  There  was  peace  in  the  neighbor- 
hood before  Paul  and  Barnabas  arrived.  It  is  probable 
that  some  accused  these  preachers  as  the  cause  of  the 
strife.     They  would  then  remember  the  words  of  the 


268  The   CJiiLrcJi  in  the  House. 

Lord  Jesus,  how  he  said,  "  I  came  not  to  send  peace 
on  the  earth,  but  a  sword."  When  the  community  is 
dead  in  sin,  to  throw  the  word  of  life  into  the  stagnant 
mass  necessarily  disturbs  it.  Although  the  Redeemer 
is  Prince  of  Peace,  he  is  not  satisfied -with  the  serenity 
of  a  dead  sea.  He  casts  in  a  solvent  whose  nature  it 
is  in  the  first  instance  to  arouse  and  separate.  The 
peace  which  he  values  is  the  purity  which  is  reached 
through  conflict.  People  must  take  sides  when  the 
cross  of  Christ  is  preached  in  time,  as  they  must  take 
sides  when  the  throne  of  Christ  is  set  in  eternity. 

When  the  persecution  reached  such  a  height  that  it 
threatened  their  lives,  the  missionaries  retired  from 
the  city,  according  to  the  law  of  the  Lord  for  that  case 
laid  down — "  When  they  persecute  you  in  one  city,  flee 
ye  into  another."  They  took  refuge  in  Lystra  and 
Derbe,  cities  of  Lycaonia,  whose  site  is  not  now  ac- 
curately known.  "There  they  preached  the  gospel." 
This  was  the  work  of  their  life;  this  was  their  ruling 
passion;  it  was  a  passion,  and  it  ruled  them.  They 
cared  indeed  for  life,  and  .fled  when  death  threatened 
them;  but  they  valued  life,  and  sought  to  preserve  it, 
mainly  for  the  work  that  life  enabled  them  to  perform. 
They  preserved  life  in  order  that  they  might  preach; 
but  they  would  not  cease  to  preach  in  order  that  they 
might  continue  to  live. 

A  cripple  was  healed  at  Lystra,  and  the  act  became 
the  occasion  of  an  incident  characteristic  of  the  prevailing 
idolatry.  The  imagination  of  the  polytheistic  Greeks 
immediately  invested  the  missionaries  with  Divine  at- 
tributes, and  acknowledged  them  as  human  imperson- 
ations of  two  of  their  deities — Jupiter,  the  chief;  and 
Mercury,  his  attendant  minister.  It  is  worthy  of  notice, 
in  passing,  that  the  primitive  idea  of  making  the  tall- 
est king  still  prevailed  in  that  region.  Barnabas,  as  the 
more  commanding  presence,  was  made  to  represent 
Jupiter;  while  Paul,  whose  spiritual  supremacy  they 
were  unable  to  understand,  was  placed  in  the  position 
of  a  subordinate. 

Promptly  following  up  their  wild  belief  with  an  equal- 
ly wild  practice,  they  forthwith  led  garlanded  oxen  to 
the  place  of  sacrifice  at  the  gate,  and  were  about  to 
slay  them   as  propitiatory  offerings   to  the  supposed 


Oiicc  ivas  I  Stoned.  269 

celestial  visitants,  when  the  apostles,  shocked  by  the 
blind  and  guilty  superstition  of  the  people,  ran  in  among 
them  and  summarily  suppressed  the  horrid  design. 
The  address  which  the  missionaries  delivered  to  the 
idohiters  of  L}stra  on  that  occasion  was  in  substance 
and  form  the  same  with  Paul's  more  elaborate  argument 
afterwards  delivered  on  the  Areopagus  at  Athens.  It 
will  be  more  convenient  to  notice  the  sentiments  as 
expressed  at  a  greater  crisis  and  on  a  more  prominent 
sphere. 

Before  they  left  Lystra,  another  event  occurred 
which  exhibits  heathenism  on  its  other  and  opposite 
side.  Jewish  emissaries  from  Antioch  and  Iconium, 
following  the  track  of  the  missionaries  like  blood-hounds, 
so  successfully  incited  the  mob  that  "  they  stoned  Paul, 
and  drew  him  out  of  the  city,  supposing  he  had  been  dead." 
It  is  enough  for  the  servant  that  he  be  as  his  Lord  : 
"  Hosanna  !  "  to-day;  and  "  Crucify  him  !"  to-morrow. 
As  the  Jews  treated  Jesus,  the  Gentiles  at  Lystra  treated 
Paul:  they  worshipped  him  in  the  morning  as  a  god, 
and  at  night  stoned  him  as  unfit  to  take  his  place  among 
men. 

"  Once  was  I  stoned,"  wrote  the  apostle  of  the  Gen- 
tiles, referring  to  this  event.  Yes,  Paul;  and  once  an- 
other thing  happened,  equally  memorable.  Once  he 
stoned  another,  and  once  he  was  stoned  himself. 
Strange  revolution  of  the  wheel  !  Now  it  is  his  turn 
to  enact  the  martyr,  praying  for  his  murderers,  and 
looking  forward  to  rest.  What  a  crowd  of  memories 
must  have  rushed  up  when  he  felt  his  spirit  swooning 
away  under  the  stone  shower  !  This  would  seem  the 
echo  of  his  own  dread  act.  Stephen's  heroic  death 
must  have  left  its  mark  deep  on  the  heart  of  the  con- 
verted Paul.  Perhaps,  when  he  felt  what  he  believed 
to  be  the  sleep  of  death  creeping  over  his  senses,  he 
expected  that  at  his  next  awakening  he  would  find  him- 
self in  Stephen's  company. 

In  all  probability  a  young  man,  of  whom  we  shall 
afterwards  hear,  stood  among  the  mourners  who  as- 
sembled round  Paul's  lifeless  body  at  Lystra.  The 
young  man  Saul  looked  on  approving  at  Jerusalem 
when  the  Christian  hero  Stephen  died:  a  young  man, 
Timoth}-,  I  believe,  looked  on  weeping  when  Paul  was 


270  77/6'   Church  in   the  House. 

stoned  at  Lystra;  and  afterwards,  with  unspeakable  joy, 
saw  the  apostle  awaking  from  his  swoon.  When  Paul, 
after  an  interval  of  two  years,  visited  Lystra  again,  he 
found  Timothy  residing  there,  a  disciple  of  Christ,  al- 
ready well  known  and  highly  esteemed  by  all  the  broth- 
erhood (Acts  xvi.  i).  At  a  later  date  he  writes  to  him 
as  his  "  own  son  in  the  faith  "  (i  Tim.  i.  2).  From  these 
two  facts,  it  results  that  Timothy  was  converted  by 
the  word  of  Paul  on  the  occasion  of  his  first  visit  to 
Lystra.  Here  then,  as  in  many  other  cases,  the  work 
prospered  while  the  workman  was  discouraged  and  per- 
secuted. The  missionary,  when  he  left  that  place, 
thought  that  he  had  visited  it  in  vain;  yet  the  seed  that 
fell  from  his  hand  there  found  soft  soil  in  one  young  in- 
genuous heart,  and  brought  forth  fruit  an  hundred-fold. 
We  know  (2  Tim.  iii.  10,  11)  that  Timothy  was  inti- 
mately acquainted  with  the  peculiar  sufferings  through 
which  Paul  passed  on  this  occasion  at  Lystra  ;  and  we 
know  also  that  from  his  childhood  he  had  been  trained 
in  the  Scriptures  by  the  pious  care  of  his  mother  and 
grandmother.  From  these  circumstances  we  are  en- 
abled, in  a  good  measure,  to  complete  the  history  of 
the  young  man's  spiritual  experience.  With  the  Scrip- 
tures, in  their  evangelical  meaning,  impressed  on  his 
mind  and  memory,  he  heard  Paul  preach.  While  the 
word  which  presented  the  Christ  as  the  fulfilling  of  the 
law  was  still  sounding  in  his  ears,  he  beheld  the  great 
preacher  stoned,  as  he  thought,  to  death  for  his  testi- 
mony. The  word  preached  and  the  sufferings  endured, 
conspired  to  complete  the  victory,  and  the  youthful 
Timothy  was  won.  It  was  not  till  a  subsequent  visit 
that  the  apostle  was  cheered  by  the  knowledge  of  this 
event;  but  the  event  sprang  direct  from  the  seed  that 
has  continued  prolific  down  to  our  own  day — the 
blood  of  the  martyrs. 

From  Lystra  the  missionaries  retired  still  eastward 
through  the  interior  of  Asia  Minor.  At  Derbe,  the 
extreme  limit  of  their  progress  in  that  direction,  they 
preached  the  gospel  with  great  success,  for  they  made 
many  disciples  there.  The  term  literally  means  a  suf- 
ficient number — that  is,  a  group  of  believers  was  gath- 
ered there  in  numbers  sufficient  to  constitute  a  Church 
whose  members  might  hold   together   and  hold  their 


ThrougJi    mucJi    Tribulation.  271 

own  in  the  place  after  the  departure  of  the  apostles. 
These  planters  were  afraid  to  plant  one  or  two  trees 
on  the  sea-shore,  exposed  to  the  blast;  they  greatly 
preferred,  wherever  it  was  possible,  to  plant  a  wood 
on  the  spot  ere  they  left  it,  and  then  they  expected 
that  the  wood  would  shelter  the  trees; — the  commun- 
ity of  disciples  would  support  and  cheer  each  other 
through  evil  days. 

At  Derbc  they  were  close  to  a  pass  in  the  moun- 
tains, called  "the  Gates  of  Cilicia,"  which  led,  by  a 
short  and  direct  route  eastward,  to  Tarsus,  the  home 
of  Paul.  "If  he  had  been  mindful  of  that  country  from 
whence  he  came  out,  he  might  have  had  opportun- 
ity to  have  returned"  (Heb.  xi.  15).  But  his  native 
place  had  no  charm  that  could  draw  him  aside  from 
his  mission.  He  had  severely  condemned  Mark  for 
going  home  before  the  work  was  done;  and  he  will 
not  himself  fall  into  the  same  snare.  He  obtained 
grace  to  turn  his  back  upon  home  when  the  work  of 
the  Lord  beckoned  him  abroad.  He  turned  his  face 
westward  again,  and  retraced  his  steps  to  that  Lystra 
which  was  to  him  the  place  of  blood.  Luther,  when 
his  friends  advised  him  to  consult  his  own  safety,  de- 
clared he  would  enter  Worms  although  every  tile  of  its 
roofs  were  a  devil  !  Paul  will  go  straight  back  to 
Lystra,  where  he  had  been  stoned  for  preaching  Christ,, 
that  he  may  preach  Christ  there  again.  By  such  men 
God  has  done  great  things  at  various  periods  of  the 
past;  and  when  he  has  similar  work  in  hand,  he  will, 
I  suppose,  raise  up  similar  instruments. 


LXL 

THROUGH  MUCH  TRIBULATION. 

"  Con/Inning  the  souls  of  the  disciples,  and  exhorting  them  to  continue 
in  the  faith,  and  that  we  must  through  much  tribulation  enter  into  the 
kingdom  of  God."— Acts  xiv.  22. 

This  noble  pair  of  brothers  turned  on  their  own  steps 
and  travelled  westward,  revisiting  in  reverse  order  all 


2/2  TJie   Chin'ch   in   the  House. 

the  places  where  they  had  preached  and  founded  so- 
cieties of  disciples.  Their  specific  task  this  time  was 
different.  They  set  themselves  on  this  occasion  to 
confirm  the  souls  of  the  converts,  and  exhort  them  as 
to  their  subsequent  course.  The  Christians  in  those 
places  were  already  born,  but  they  needed  to  be  nour- 
ished into  strength.  These  are  the  two  main  points 
in  a  missionary's  work.  On  their  former  visit,  they 
occupied  themselves  mainly  with  the  first;  and  on  the 
latter,  mainly  with  the  second.  The  first  necessity  is, 
to  see  that  they  are  in  Christ;  and  the  next,  to  see 
that  they  grow  strong  in  the  Lord. 

They  valued  the  right  and.  orderly  constitution  of 
the  Churches,  and  this  matter  accordingly  was  not  ne- 
glected; but  they  gave  their  first  attention  to  the  work 
of  confirming  souls.  What  boots  a  well-organized 
Church,  if  it  consists  of  dead  members  .''  The  living 
m.ay  live  without  organization,  but  organization  is 
nothing  without  life.  Let  us  remember  the  apostolic 
order  of  these  two  things:  it  is  first,  get  souls  con- 
firmed; and  then,  get  the  community  constituted  under 
a  sound  and  scriptural  government. 

Corresponding  with  their  specific  object,  the  burden 
of  the  missionaries'  preaching  this  time  is  not  "  Re- 
pent, and  believe  the  gospel,"  but,  "  Continue  in  the 
faith."  And  for  the  rest,  the  warning  word  rings 
clearly  out,  "We  must  through  much  tribulation  enter 
into  the  kingdom  of  God."  Nothing  strange  will  hap- 
pen to  these  Asiatic  believers:  the  preachers  include 
themselves  in  this  description  of  the  Christian  life.  It 
is  a  law  of  the  kingdom  that  they  announce  here. 
The  forewarned  are  forearmed.  Remembering  this 
word  they  will  not  faint  when  persecution  for  Christ's 
sake  comes. 

Much  tribulation  !  Yes;  but  they  will  pass  through 
it.  What  a  word  is  this  !  Thanks  be  to  God  for  this 
blessed  transitive  preposition  !  No  part  of  speech  so 
sweet  as  this  in  all  the  lessons  of  the  grammarian  ! 
There  is  trouble,  but  the  disciples  of  Christ  get  through 
it.  Trouble  changes  its  nature  when  you  are  assured 
that  it  cannot  last  long.  Can  you  measure  the  differ- 
ence between  abiding  in  tribulation  and  going  through 
it  ?     No;  it  passeth  all  understanding.     You  never  read 


Through    much    Tribulation.  273 

of  the  unsaved  passing  through  their  suffering,  or  of 
the  saved  in  Christ  passing  through  their  joy.  In  the 
one  case,  it  is  a  passing  through  joy  (the  pleasures  of 
sin)  into  tribuhition;  in  the  other,  a  passing  througli 
tribulation  into  the  joy  of  the  Lord. 

The  life  of  a  disciple  on  earth  is  like  a  voyage  on 
the  sea.  The  sea  is  rough;  the  heart  is  sick;  the  land 
is  not  in  sight.  Helpless  and  miserable,  the  voyager 
la\-s  himself  down  at  night.  He  looks  and  feels  as  if 
he  cared  for  nothing,  and  hoped  for  nothing.  But  un- 
derneath all  this  sadness  a  living  hope  is  burning  which 
these  stormy  waters  cannot  quench.  He  has  confi- 
dence in  the  ship  and  the  crew;  he  expects  soon  to 
reach  the  shore.  And  when  he  reaches  it  his  sorrow 
is  over,  and  even  the  memory  of  it  almost  blotted  out. 
Suddenly,  from  the  open  sea,  the  ship  has  passed 
through  the  portals  of  the  haven,  and  there  is  a  great 
calm.     He  has  passed  through  the  tribulation. 

Those  who  have  watched  the  death-bed  of  Chris- 
tians have  seen  such  a  storm  suddenly  settling  into  a 
calm..  It  is  a  great  relief  to  weeping  witnesses  when 
the  tossing  ceases,  and  the  peace  begins. 

It  is  not  only  that  in  point  of  fact  tribulation  hap- 
pens to  lie  between  Christians  and  their  rest:  it  has 
been  placed  there  of  deliberate  design  by  a  wise  and 
loving  Father,  in  order  that,  by  passing  through  it, 
they  may  be  prepared  for  a  rest  beyond. 

In  some  of  the  most  delicate  manufactures  of  this 
country,  the  web,  in  a  rude  and  unsightly  state,  enters 
a  vessel  filled  with  a  certain  liquid,  passes  slowly 
through  and  emerges  continuously  at  the  opposite  side. 
As  it  enters,  the  cloth  seems  all  of  one  color,  and  that 
one  dim  and  unattractive;  as  it  emerges,  it  glitters,  in 
a  variety  of  brilliant  hues  arranged  in  cunning  figures, 
like  a  robe  of  needle-work  for  the  adornment  of  a 
queen.  The  liquid  through  which  the  fabric  passes  is 
composed  of  certain  fiery,  biting  acids;  and  the  reason 
why  it  is  strained  through  such  a  bath  is,  that  in  the 
passage  all  the  deforming  and  defiling  things  that  have 
adhered  to  its  surface  in  preceding  processes  may  be 
discharged,  and  the  figures,  already  secretly  imprinted, 
may  shine  out  in  their  beauty. 

Thus  the  disciples  of  Christ  are  in  this  life  drawn 


274  The   ChurcJi   in  the  House. 

through  great  tribulation,  although  the  Lord  who  loves 
them  has  all  power  in  heaven  and  in  earth ;  nay,  precisely 
because  the  Lord  who  loves  them  has  all  power  in  hea- 
ven and  in  earth,  they  are  bathed  in  this  sea  of  sorrows. 
It  is  not  that  this  sea  lies  in  their  way,  and  that  by  a 
kind  of  geographical  necessity  they  must  go  through  it; 
rather,  the  Lord  that  bought  them  has  provided  that 
sea,  and  placed  it  across  their  path,  that  in  its  bitter 
waters  the  manifold  incrustations  that  defile  their  beau- 
ty may  be  discharged  ere  they  appear  before  the  great 
white  throne.  Already,  and  by  the  ministry  of  the 
Spirit,  the  various  features  of  their  Redeemer's  likeness 
have  been  secretly  imprinted  on  their  hearts;  but  these 
features  have  been  so  overlaid  by  manifold  corruptions 
in  actual  life,  that  the  new  nature  can  scarcely  be  rec- 
ognized. Hence  the  necessity  of  providing  a  searching 
medium,  and  making  even  those  who  are  "his  work- 
manship" pass  through  it  for  their  own  good. 

Much  tribulation:  He  is  wise  and  loving  who  deter- 
mines in  each  case  its  amount  and  its  duration.  He 
does  not  spare  the  patient  so  as  to  spoil  the  work  by 
leaving  it  half-done.  A  child  is  ailing;  and  some  slight 
but  rather  painful  operation  is  required.  The  mother 
will  herself  perform  it.  But  after  she  has  begun,  the 
child  cries  pitifully:  the  mother's  courage  fails.  She 
desists,  lays  down  the  instrument,  takes  the  child  in 
her  arms,  and  wipes  away  the  falling  tears.  The  child's 
crying  ceases  under  this  process,  but  the  child's  ailment 
is  not  cured.  The  case  must  be  put  into  the  surgeon's 
hands.  He  has  both  skill  to  know  what  is  needed  and 
courage  to  carry  it  through.  He  will  not  spare  for  the 
patient's  crying.  This  treatment  is  better  in  the  long- 
run  for  the  child. 

I  have  been  informed,  as  I  looked  curiously  on  the 
web  in  perpetual  motion  passing  through,  that  if  it  were 
allowed  to  remain  one  minute  too  long  in  the  bath,  the 
fabric  itself  would  be  destroyed.  The  manufacturer, 
skilful  and  careful,  has  so  tempered  the  ingredients  on 
the  one  hand,  and  timed  the  passage  on  the  other,  that 
while  the  impurities  are  thoroughly  discharged,  the 
fabric  comes  out  uninjured.  In  wisdom  and  love,  both 
infinite,  the  Lord  has  mingled  the  ingredients,  and 
determined  the  duration  of  the  baptism;  so  that,  on 


TJie  Missionarit-s   rftiirii  to  AntiocJi.  275 

the  one  hand,  none  of  his  should  be  lost,  and,  on  the 
other,  every  grace  of  the  Spirit  should  be  brought  out 
in  its  beaaty  upon  all  his  own. 

Thus,  there  is  a  "need  be"  for  the  great  tribulation; 
but  we  shall  miss  more  than  half  the  meaning  of  the 
word  here  if  we  think  of  this  necessity  as  applicable 
only  to  the  suffering.  Another  thing  is  necessary — a 
better  and  a  brighter.  True,  it  is  said  of  all  Christ's 
people,  that  they  must  pass  through  much  tribulation; 
but  it  is  also  said  of  them,  that  they  must  enter  the 
kingdom.  As  certainly  as  he  came  out  to  seek,  those 
whom  he  finds  shall  go  in.  He  shall  see  of  the  travail 
of  his  soul,  and  shall  be  satisfied.  The  Captain  of  our 
salvation  will  bring  many  sons  into  glory.  The  "  must " 
is  spoken  of  the  abundant  entrance  as  well  as  of  the 
narrow  road.  Fear  not,  little  flock;  it  is  your  Father's 
good  pleasure  to  give  you  the  kingdom. 


LXII. 

THE  MISSIONARIES  RETURN   TO  ANTIOCII. 

'■'■And  when  they  had  ordained  them  elders  in  every  church,  and  had 
prayed  with  fasting,  they  commended  them  to  the  Lord,  on  whom  they 
believed,''''  etc. — ACTS  XIV.  23-28. 

While  the  apostles  devoted  themselves  mainly  to  the 
preaching  of  the  gospel,  they  did  not  neglect  the  or- 
ganization of  the  Church.  The  young  disciples  were 
not  left  long  without  institutions  and  order.  For  edi- 
fication and  discipline  and  defence,  each  community 
was  constituted  a  corporation;  and  in  each  corporation 
elders  were  ordained.  It  was  on  the  second  visit  of 
the  missionaries  that  this  was  done.  An  interval 
was  permitted  to  elapse,  that  the  fittest  men  might 
emerge;  and  already  the  rule,  "Lay  hands  suddenly 
on  no  man,"  was  practiced  before  it  was  prescribed. 

The  term  translated  "ordained,"  etymologically  sig» 
nifies  election  by  a  show  of  hands;  and  although,  in 


2/6  TJic   CluD'cJi   ill   the  House. 

later  times,  the  word  was  employed  to  express  the  act 
of  a  bishop  without  election  by  the  congregation,  the 
original  root  remains  as  a  fossil  evidence  of  the  liberty 
that  prevailed  in  the  primitive  Church.  This  and  many 
other  privileges  which  were  enjoyed  in  apostolic  times 
Were  gradually  undermined  by  the  encroachments  of 
ecclesiastical  power  in  a  later  age. 

The  founders  of  these  infant  communities  could  not 
remain  with  the  inexperienced  converts.  They  were 
obliged  to  leave  the  Christians  among  unbelieving  Gen- 
tiles and  Jews,  as  sheep  in  the  midst  of  wolves;  and  yet 
they  were  not  overwhelmed  with  fear  for  the  safety  of 
the  Churches.  Faith  was  then  young  and  fresh,  and 
full  of  life.  They  commended  their  charge  "  to  the 
Lord,  on  whom  they  believed,"  and  proceeded  on  their 
journey.  They  had  no  arm  of  flesh  whereon  to  lean, 
and  they  seem  never  to  have  thought  such  a  support 
needful. 

Having  traversed  the  province  of  Pisidia,  they  came 
to  Perga,  the  place  at  which  they  had  first  landed  when 
they  crossed  from  Cyprus  to  the  continent.  For  some 
reason  not  expressed,  they  had  merely  passed  through 
that  place  on  their  first  visit;  and  now,  when  they  re- 
turned to  it  the  second  time,  they  paused  and  preached. 
This  town  was  in  communication  with  the  sea  by  means 
of  a  river;  but  though  the  missionaries  desired  now  to 
return  by  sea  to  Antioch  in  Syria,  they  did  not  sail 
direct  from  Perga — probably  because  the  larger  ships 
did  not  frequent  that  port.  Another  harbor  further 
westward,  called  Attaleia,  better  suited  their  purpose. 
A  greater  traffic  congregated  there,  and  there  accord- 
ingly they  might  more  readily  obtain  a  passage  to  Syria. 

From  this  port  a  great  army  of  Crusaders  sailed  for 
Antioch  in  the  middle  ages — a  wretched,  unfortunate 
rabble,  who  perished  by  thousands  on  the  way.  Alas  ! 
the  gospel  which  Paul  and  Barnabas  brought  to  these 
shores  was  greatly  corrupted  in  the  course  of  a  thou- 
sand years.  How  unlike  the  clear,  certain  sound  of 
the  first  preachers,  was  the  echo  which  returned  from 
West  to  East  in  the  crusading  times  !  These  two  men, 
not  fighting,  but  suffering,  came  from  east  to  west,  with 
no  weapon  but  the  Word,  mighty  through  God  to  sub- 
due the  nations;  but  when  the  West,  in   an  evil  day, 


Tlie  Missionaries   return   to  Aiitioeh.  277 

proposed  to  make  a  return  missionary  visit  to  the  East, 
the\'  bore  carnal  weapons,  and  wasted  the  territories 
of  friend  and  foe.  They  took  the  sword,  and  they  per- 
ished by  it.  A  fleet  with  an  army  sailed  from  the  port 
of  Attaleia. 

After  the  lapse  of  another  six  centuries,  the  Western 
nations  have  again  turned  their  faces  to  the  East,  and 
preached  a  new  crusade.  From  America  and  Europe 
they  stream  eastward — soldiers  of  the  Cross,  to  re-con- 
quer Palestine  from  the  disciples  of  Mohammed,  and  to 
win  India  and  China  for  Christ;  but  they  have  returned 
to  the  means  and  methods  of  apostolic  times.  We 
send  a  few  earnest  believing  men  and  women,  armed 
with  the  sword  of  the  Spirit;  and  they  are  waging  a 
successful  war  against  the  superstitions  and  idolatries 
of  Asia. 

From  Attaleia  by  sea  Paul  and  Barnabas  returned 
to  Antioch  in  Syria,  whence  they  had  been  sent  out  on 
their  first  missionary  tour.  That  great  city  of  the 
world  became  for  a  time  the  centre  of  effort  for  propa- 
gating the  faith  of  Christ.  From  it  the  missionaries 
departed,  and  to  it  they  returned  when  the  work  was 
done.  Immediately  the  Christians  of  the  city  assem- 
bled to  hear  the  report  of  their  agents.  It  must  have 
been  a  glad  and  exhilarating  scene.  Every  eye  would 
glisten,  and  every  countenance  beam  with  joy,  as  these 
pioneers  of  the  gospel  rehearsed  in  the  assembly  the 
great  things  that  the  Lord  had  done. 

"  To  him  that  hath  shall  be  given,  and  he  shall  have 
more  abundantly."  This  promise  was  fulfilled  in  the 
experience  of  the  Church  at  Antioch.  They  possessed 
grace  which  induced  and  enabled  them  to  give  to  otii- 
ers  and  their  gift  to  others  came  back  in  redoubled  bless- 
ings to  themselves.  From  them  the  mission  went  forth, 
and  to  them  the  missionaries  returned,  charged  with  the 
blessing  of  a  world  that  was  ready  to  perish.  Like  swal- 
lows returning  to  their  nests,  the  apostles  came  back  to 
Antioch.  The  successful  laborers  longed  for  kindred 
spirits,  who  might  sympathize  with  them  in  their  sor- 
rows and  their  joys;  but  who  could  rejoice  with  them  over 
the  work  accomplished,  so  well  as  those  who  had  com- 
missioned and  sent  them  out  for  the  work  }     The  success 


2/8  The   CJiurcJi  in  the  House. 

of  its  own  mission  was  the  means  of  quickening  the 
Church. 

The  element  of  novelty  in  the  report  which  Paul 
and  Barnabas  brought  home  was,  that  God  had  opened 
the  door  of  faith  to  the  Gentiles.  Hitherto,  although 
converts  from  beyond  the  pale  of  the  Jewish  national- 
ity had  been  freely  admitted,  they  had  been  accepted 
as  individuals,  on  profession  of  their  faith,  into  com- 
munion with  believing  Jews.  But  now,  in  Gentile 
cities,  churches  were  constituted  mainly  of  Gentile 
converts.  The  door  was  open,  and  the  gospel,  over- 
leaping the  boundaries  of  Israel,  had  obtained  access 
to  the  world. 

The  Church  at  Antioch  while  Paul  and  Barnabas 
resided  there,  after  their  return  from  the  Greek  cities  of 
Asia,  seems  to  be  no  longer  a  lodge  in  the  wilderness, 
but  one  of  the  golden  streets  of  the  New  Jerusalem. 
There  was  so  much  of  faith,  and  love,  and  joy,  and  that 
of  so  long  continuance,  that  they  might  well  begin  to 
think  they  had  already  passed  through  the  great  tribu- 
lation— that  the  kingdom  in  its  glory  would  soon 
appear.  But  a  dark  cloud  suddenly  overshadowed  the 
bright  landscape.  "  Certain  men  came  down  from 
Judaea,  and  taught  the  brethren,"  etc.  Alas !  the 
ailment  under  which  we  suffer  to-day,  afflicted  the 
Church  in  that  early  age.  Certain  men  with  narrow 
superstitious  notions  attempted  to  thrust  their  own 
crotchets  down  the  throats  of  their  brethren.  How 
much  has  the  kingdom  been  obstructed  in  the  world 
by  men  within  the  Church  attempting  to  impose  un- 
necessary beliefs  or  practices  upon  the  consciences  of 
their  brethren  .-^  This  baleful  spirit  manifested  itself  at 
an  early  date,  and  it  has  not  yet  been  cast  out.  These 
men,  acting  like  all  other  creatures  after  their  kind, 
did  not  go  to  the  heathen  to  proclaim  the  gospel 
where  it  was  unknown;  they  came  to  those  who  were 
already  Christians,  and  zealously  proselytized  in  fa- 
vor of  their  own  sectarian  watchword.  They  settled 
among  the  disciples  at  Antioch,  and  taught  in  a  very 
positive  form,  that  unless  the  Gentiles  conformed  to 
the  Mosaic  ritual,  their  trust  in  Christ  could  not  save 
them.  The  apostles  perceived  at  once  that  this  ques- 
tion was  vital.     Here  they  must  take  their  stand.     The 


The  Missionaries   return   to  AntiocJi.  279 

entrance  of  this  leaven,  they  saw,  would  corrupt  the 
whole  body.     It  would  introduce  another  gospel. 

It  was  one  thing  for  converted  Jews  to  continue  for 
some  time  the  practice  of  the  Mosaic  ritual,  with  which 
they  had  been  familiar  from  their  childhood;  and  it  was 
all  another  thing  to  impose  that  ritual  on  the  Gentiles 
as  if  it  were  necessary  to  salvation.  The  question  was 
keenly  discussed  for  some  time  at  Antioch,  between 
Paul  and  Barnabas  on  the  one  side,  and  the  Judaizing 
teachers  from  Jerusalem  on  the  other;  but  as  there  was 
no  authority  competent  to  decide  between  the  parties, 
no  progress  was  made.  In  these  circumstances,  the 
whole  Church  resolved  to  lay  the  matter  before  the 
apostles  and  elders  at  Jerusalem.  Accordingly  it  was 
arranged,  with  common  consent,  that  a  deputation,  in- 
cluding Paul  and  Barnabas,  should  proceed  to  the  Mo- 
ther Church  of  Judaea,  to  state  their  case  and  maintain 
their  interests. 

In  adopting  this  resolution  they  were  wisely  led.  A 
right  and  authoritative  decision  on  this  subject  was 
necessary,  not  only  for  the  immediate  peace,  but  also 
for  the  future  prosperity,  and  even  the  ultimate  exist- 
ence, of  the  Church.  To  have  admitted,  as  author- 
itatively binding  the  consciences  of  believers,  that 
something  additional  to  faith  in  Christ  crucified  was 
necessary  to  justification,  would  have  essentially 
changed  the  nature  of  the  gospel.  It  would  have 
been  to  draw  the  pen  through  the  glorious  word,  "  It 
is  finished,"  and  to  throw  despairing  sinners  back  on 
their  own  resources,  as  if  no  Redeemer  had  undertaken 
and  accomplished  the  work.  We  owe  much  to  the 
watchful  faithfulness  of  these  primitive  missionaries  in 
asserting  for  themselves  and  transmitting  to  us  "  the 
simplicity  that  is  in  Christ." 


28o  TJie   C/i7irch  in  the  House. 

LXIII. 

THE   COUNCIL   OF  JERUSALEM. 

' '  And  certain  men  which  came  dozvn  from  Jitdaa  taught  the  brethren, 
and  sa  d.  Except  ye  be  circumcised  after  the  manner  of  Moses,  ye  cannot 
be  saved,"  etc. — ACTS  XV. 

When  the  deputies  arrived  at  Jerusalem,  the  interest 
in  the  missionaries  and  their  accomplished  work  among 
the  heathen  was  so  great,  that  the  dispute  on  a  point 
of  doctrine  was  in  the  first  instance  thrown  into  the 
shade.  Even  on  their  way  through  Phenicia  and  Sa- 
maria every  town  claimed  a  meeting,  and  every  church 
rejoiced  in  the  glad  news.  In  the  capital,  too,  the  de- 
sire to  hear  of  the  Lord's  work  predominated  over  all 
other  claims;  and  nothing  was  done  towards  the  adju- 
dication of  the  appealed  case,  until  first  the  disciples 
were  all  satisfied  with  the  details  of  the  mission  in  Cy- 
prus, and  throughout  the  cities  of  the  Lesser  Asia.  When 
this  great  appetite  was  satisfied,  then  the  apostles  and 
elders  made  preparation  for  an  assembly  to  sit  in  judg- 
ment on  the  question,  whether  the  Mosaic  rites  should 
be  imposed  upon  the  Greek  converts.  The  Christian 
Pharisees  lost  no  time  in  bringing  the  question  up,  and 
pressing  for  a  decision  in  their  own  favor.  Whether 
these  were  the  same  men  now  returned  from  Antioch, 
or  others  resident  in  Jerusalem,  who  entertained  t-he 
same  opinions,  is  not  made  clear.  "  The  apostles  and 
elders  came  together  to  consider  of  this  matter."  The 
assembly  was  called  to  order,  the  case  was  introduced, 
and  the  debate  began. 

After  a  good  deal  of  preliminary  discussion,  Peter 
took  occasion  to  narrate  his  own  experience,  and  to 
express  his  views.  He  had,  at  an  early  date,  been  Di- 
vinely called  to  carry  the  gospel  to  Gentile  families 
residing  within  the  territory  of  Judaea;  and  reasoning 
by  analogy,  he  held  strongly  the  view,  that  Paul  and 
Barnabas  were  justified  in  admitting  the  Greeks  on  a 
foreign  soil  directly  and  simply  into  the  privileges  of 


The   Council  of  Jcrusalcui.  281 

the  Church,  without  enjoining  the  observance  of  the 
law  of  Moses.  The  next  step  was  to  hear  a  narrative 
of  the  facts  from  the  lips  of  the  two  missionaries.  A 
threat  impression  seems  to  have  been  made  by  the  in- 
telligence from  foreign  parts.  "All  the  multitude  kept 
silence,  and  gave  audience  to  Paul  and  Barnabas."  It 
is  clear  that  besides  the  apostles  and  elders,  a  very 
great  number  of  Christians  were  present  when  this 
report  was  submitted. 

Immediately  after  the  address  of  the  missionaries, 
and  while  the  assembly  were  under  the  solemn  and 
tender  impressions  of  the  scene,  James,  the  Lord's 
brother,  who  seems  to  have  acted  as  a  kind  of  presi- 
dent, summed  up  the  evidence,  and  proposed  the  de- 
cision of  the  court.  The  proposal  submitted  by  James 
was  unanimously  adopted.  It  unequivocally  condemned 
the  demand  made  by  the  Pharisaic  Christians  upon  the 
Gentile  converts.  It  maintained  for  the  Church  an  ab- 
solute freedom  from  the  bondage  of  the  ceremonial 
law.  It  enjoined  abstinence  from  certain  pollutions 
which  were  common  among  idolaters,  but  prescribed 
no  ritual  as  necessary  to  salvation.  This  is  the  charter 
of  the  Church's  liberty  to  the  present  day.  No  man 
or  body  of  men  has  a  right  to  prescribe  for  Christians, 
as  of  authority,  any  observance  or  any  form.  The  con- 
science is  not  subject  to  human  law. 

It  is  well  worthy  of  observation  in  our  own  clay,  that 
when  a  schism  was  threatened  between  two  portions 
of  the  Christian  Church,  the  difficulty  was  overcome, 
and  the  breach  prevented,  by  refusing  to  adopt  a  new 
and  additional  term  of  communion.  The  introduction 
of  new  dogmas  as  essential  to  salvation,  necessarily 
rends  the  body  of  Christ.  Christians  must  hold  and 
profess  all  that  their  Saviour  gave  them,  even  at  the 
risk  of  division;  t)ut  woe  to  those  who  on  any  pretext 
disturb  the  brotherhood  by  imposing  any  yoke  which 
the  Master  did  not  impose  ! 

The  Council  at  Jerusalem  deputed  Judas  and  Silas, 
two  of  their  own  number,  to  accompany  Paul  and  Bar- 
nabas on  their  return  to  Antioch.  These  two  con- 
firmed the  testimony  of  the  missionaries,  and  certified 
the  authenticity  of  the  letter  which  they  bore.  The 
Christians  at  Antioch  greatly  rejoiced  in  the  consoli- 


282  The   CJnirch  in  the  House. 

dation  of  their  liberty,  and  the  suppression  of  the  threat- 
ened schism. 

Silas,  one  of  the  deputies  from  Jerusalem,  having 
become  interested  in  the  foreign  work,  remained  at 
Antioch  with  the  missionaries  when  his  colleague  re- 
turned. The  work  of  evangelization  was  now  prose- 
cuted with  renewed  zeal  in  the  great  Syrian  capital. 
The  foundation  of  the  Church  in  that  city  must  be  laid 
deep  and  broad,  that  it  may  serve  as  a  basis  for  carry- 
ing the  mission  into  Europe.  But  the  spirit  of  Paul 
could  not  long  submit  to  the  conditions  of  a  settled 
ministry.  He  longed  for  labor  on  the  foreign  field. 
His  restlessness  was  of  the  Lord  for  the  good  of  the 
world.  It  would  have  been  an  unspeakable  loss  to 
the  Western  nations  if  this  man  had  grown  indolent, 
and  settled  down  in  comfortable  and  honorable  em- 
ployment at  home. 

Accordingly,  after  a  period  of  united  effort  in  An- 
tioch, Paul  proposed  to  Barnabas  that  they  should 
revisit  the  Churches  which  they  had  planted  in  West- 
ern Asia.  Barnabas  acquiesced  heartily  in  the  main 
features  of  his  brother's  plan;  but  a  hitch  occurred  in 
the  choice  of  a  junior  assistant.  Barnabas  preferred 
Mark,  his  own  nephew;  and  Paul  refused  to  concur  in 
the  choice,  on  the  ground  that  Mark  had  prematurely 
deserted  the  mission  in  its  time  of  need  before.  This 
weakness,  against  which  the  good  Barnabas  was  not 
proof,  has  wrought  much  mischief  both  in  Church  and 
State.  It  has  obtained  a  name, — nepotism, — from  the 
very  relation  in  which  Mark  stood  to  the  senior  mis- 
sionary. So  greatly  has  it  interfered  with  every  good 
work  in  the  world,  that  those  men  have  always  been 
held  in  special  honor  who  have  been  able  to  resist  it, 
and  have  appointed  the  fittest  men  to  important  trusts, 
without  respect  to  family  connections. 

But  when  a  decisive  difference  of  judgment  occurred, 
although  the  altercation  was  sharp  at  the  moment, 
these  two  men  ultimately  adopted  a  wise  resolution, 
and  permanent  good  sprang  from  incidental  evil.  Two 
well-appointed  missions  sprang  from  one,  and  the  ben- 
efit was  doubled.  So  the  Lord  over  all  makes  the 
wrath  of  even  his  own  servants  to  praise  him,  and  the  re- 
mainder of  that  wrath  he  restrains.     How  tender  and 


The   Council  of  Jcyjts.nlcin.  283 

lons^-sufTcring  is  our  Father  in  heaven  !  Instead  of 
punishini^  us  for  our  quarrels,  he  often  turns  them  to 
the  furtherance  of  his  own  cause.  He  served  himself 
of  the  weakness,  as  well  as  of  the  strength,  of  these 
two  primitive  missionaries. 

Barnabas,  with  Mark  as  his  companion,  went  by  sea 
to  Cyprus;  Paul,  with  Silas  as  coadjutor,  travelled  over- 
land westward  through  Syria  and  Cilicia,  confirming 
the  Churches. 

Thus  each  of  the  two  senior  missionaries  on  that 
occasion  visited  the  home  of  his  youth;  for  Tarsus, 
the  place  of  Paul's  nativity,  was  the  chief  city  of 
Cilicia. 

Nothing  is  said  of  Paul's  reception  as  a  prophet  in 
his  own  country.  It  is  evident  that  he  did  not  linger 
long  about  Tarsus.  Probably  he  found  too  much  cur- 
iosity among  the  people  there  regarding  himself  per- 
sonally. He  disliked  and  resented  everything  that 
turned  the  people's  attention  from  the  Christ  whom  he 
preached.  He  pressed  accordingly  westward  through 
the  province,  and  tarried  nowhere  long  till  he  reached 
Derbe  and  Lystra,  the  scenes  of  his  success  and  his 
sufferings  on  his  former  tour. 

At  Lystra  on  this  occasion  occurred  his  first  inter- 
view with  Timothy.  This  young  man  was  already  a 
Christian  of  high  reputation  in  the  neighborhood,  and 
we  know  that  the  early  religious  training  of  the  youth 
had  been  quickened  into  positive  spiritual  life  by  Paul's 
word  spoken  during  the  former  journey.  This  must 
have  been  a  glad  and  tender  meeting.  When  Eunice, 
Timothy's  mother,  introduced  her  son  to  Paul,  and  in- 
formed him  of  the  youth's  conversion,  the  spirit  of  the 
laborious  missionary  must  have  been  greatly  refreshed. 
Here  was  evidence  that  his  labor  and  his  sufferings 
had  not  been  in  vain.  At  sight  of  Timothy,  Paul 
would  thank  God  and  take  courage.  The  history  is 
fresh  and  full  of  consolation  still.  It  contains  encour- 
agement to  every  sower  of  the  good  seed,  down  to  the 
end  of  the  world.  Many  seeds  which  go  out  of  the 
sower's  sight,  take  root  and  bear  fruit  unto  eternal  life. 


284  TJie   ChurcJi  in  tJic  House. 

LXIV. 

THE   GOSPEL  INTRODUCED  INTO  EUROPE. 

'^  And  they  passing  by  Mysia  came  down  to  Troas.  And  a  vision  ap 
peared  to  Paul  in  the  night;  There  stood  a  niait  of  Macedonia,  and 
prayed  him,  saying.  Come  over  into  Macedonia,  and  help  its,''''  etc. — 
Acts  xvi.  8-13. 

Here  the  history  of  the  Church  reaches  a  great  crisis. 
The  missionaries  of  the  Cross  pass  the  narrow  sea  that 
separates  Asia  from  Europe,  and  the  gospel  is  intro- 
duced among  the  nations  of  the  growing  West.  In 
the  person  of  "the  man  of  Macedonia,"  Greece  and 
Rome  invite  the  apostles  of  the  Cross.  Weary  and 
empty,  the  warriors,  artists,  and  philosophers  of  the 
Empire  thirst  for  the  living  water.  Europe  on  the 
west,  as  Ethiopia  on  the  south,  humbly  stretches  out 
her  hands  to  God. 

At  Lystra  the  apostle  of  the  Gentiles  had  been 
gladdened  by  the  accession  of  Timothy  to  the  mis- 
sionary band.  At  that  place  he  had  suffered  more 
than  elsewhere;  but  there,  as  elsewhere,  the  blood  of 
the  martyrs  had  become  the  seed  of  the  Church. 
From  the  seed  of  his  own  suffering  and  testimony  at 
that  place  a  goodly  fruit  had  secretly  sprung.  By  the 
time  of  his  second  visit  the  fruit  was  ripe,  and  he  who 
sowed  was  permitted  also  to  reap.  In  the  former  visit 
he  had  gone  forth  weeping,  bearing  precious  seed:  now 
when  he  leaves  Lystra,  moving  westward  to  new  fields, 
he  bears  his  sheaves  rejoicing.  Faithful  is  he  that 
promised:  the  missionary  is  sustained  in  his  work. 
"  His  heart  is  lifted  up  in  the  ways  of  the  Lord."  Let 
all  men  know  that  the  sad  things  which  happened  to 
the  preacher  at  Lystra  have  turned  out  for  the  furth- 
erance of  the  gospel. 

Paul  invited  his  son  Timothy  to  join  the  mission, 
and  Tim.othy  consented.  Having  in  his  bag  a  supply 
of  parchments  containing  the  decrees  of  the  council 
which  refused  to  bind  circumcision  on  the  conscience 
of  the  Gentile  converts,  Paul  was  at  liberty  to  yield  to 


TJic   Gospel  introduced  into  Europe.  285 

the  feelings  of  the  Jews  from  motives  of  expediency; 
and  so  he  circumcised  Timothy  at  the  outset.  He  had 
contended  earnestly  and  successfully  for  the  liberty  of 
Christians;  but  he  was  not  the  man  to  put  all  his 
rights  in  force,  without  regard  to  circumstances.  He 
delighted  to  concede  in  tenderness  to  brethren  that 
which  he  would  not  surrender  to  the  legalists  who  de- 
manded it  as  of  right.  He  refused  to  circumcise  the 
Greek  Titus  at  the  demand  of  Jewish  Christians,  be- 
cause they  demanded  it  on  the  ground  that  it  was  ne- 
cessary to  salvation;  but  Timothy,  by  the  mother's 
side  and  by  education  a  Jew,  he  readily  circumcised, 
in  order  to  smooth  his  way  into  the  synagogues,  and 
enlarge  his  opportunities  of  preaching  Christ. 

Providentially  prevented  from  prolonging  their  stay 
and  penetrating  to  the  northern  provinces  of  Lesser 
Asia,  they  soon  arrived  at  Troas,  the  extreme  western 
point  of  the  continent.  There  Paul's  spirit  was  stirred 
within  him  as  he  saw  the  isles  of  Greece  in  the  fore- 
ground, and  the  continent  of  Europe  in  the  distance. 
He  longed  to  preach  Jesus  and  the  resurrection  in 
Athens,  the  eye  of  Greece  and  the  centre  of  European 
civilization. 

At  Troas  a  fourth  missionary  joined  the  group — 
Luke,  the  beloved  physician.  From  this  point  the 
narrative  proceeds  in  the  first  person  plural,  because 
from  this  point  the  historian  was  personally  a  witness 
of  the  events  which  he  records. 

By  two  stages  they  made  the  passage  across  the 
straits.  The  first  day's  sailing  brought  them  to  the 
island  of  Samothracia,  and  next  day  they  landed  on 
the  European  shore  at  Neapolis.  Thence  they  jour- 
neyed inland  to  Philippi,  the  nearest  city  of  importance. 
Here  they  opened  their  commission  and  began.  The 
Church  of  Philippi  is  thus  the  metropolitan  Church  of 
Europe.  The  seed  of  the  kingdom  imported  from  the 
East,  first  fructified  there,  and  thence  spread  through 
the  neighboring  regions. 

Philippi  was  a  colony.  This  was  doubtless  one  of 
the  reasons  why  the  missionaries  selected  it  as  their 
first  station.  It  brought  them  into  contact  with  the 
peculiar  institutions  of  the  Roman  PLmpire.  Located 
in  the  provinces,  it  was  colonized  by  native  Italians,  and 


286  The   Church  in  the  Hotise. 

enjoyed  the  privileges  of  an  Italian  city.  Chiefly  inhab- 
ited by  discharged  soldiers,  it  was  a  stronghold  of  de- 
fence on  the  frontiers.  In  that  city  the  missionaries 
abode  some  days,  apparently  without  meeting  an  op- 
portunity of  prosecuting  their  work.  At  this  rate  Paul 
will  not  linger  long  in  the  place.  Life  is  short;  and  he 
must  be  about  his  Master's  business.  But  when  the 
Sabbath  arrived  an  opportunity  occurred.  The  few 
Jews  who  resided  at  Philippi  seem  not  to  have  possessed 
a  synagogue;  but  a  station  had  been  provided  in  a 
sequestered  spot  by  the  side  of  the  river  where  the 
worshippers  of  God,  whether  native  Jews  or  proselytes, 
were  wont  to  meet  for  prayer. 

Some  women  resorted  to  the  spot:  on  this  Sabbath, 
women  only  were  there.  The  Roman  veteran,  lording 
it  on  the  soil  of  Macedonia,  would  sneer  at  the  humble 
group  as  he  saw  them  passing  to  the  conventicle;  per- 
haps a  philosophic  Greek,  himself  oppressed  by  the 
military  conquerors,  uttered  a  sarcasm  at  the  expense  of 
the  women-worshippers.  No  matter:  those  who  win  have 
the  right  to  laugh.  These  women  were  on  the  winning 
side,  and  a  windfall  of  great  gain  will  meet  them  to-day 
at  the  trysting-place. 

Among  the  worshippers  was  Lydia,  a  Gentile  pros- 
elyte from  Thyatira  in  Asia,  settled  in  Philippi  as  an 
agent  for  the  sale  of  purple,  the  staple  manufacture 
of  her  native  place.  There  is  abundant  evidence  from 
other  sources,  that  Thyatira  was  celebrated  as  a  seat 
of  this  manufacture.  Inscriptions  have  been  recently 
found  on  the  spot,  which  show  that  the  guild  of  dyers 
were  an  important  corporation  in  the  city.  Perhaps 
Lydia's  husband  had  emigrated  on  this  business,  and 
died  at  Philippi;  and  the  trade  being  prosperous,  the 
widow  had  braced  herself  to  the  effort  of  conducting 
it,  until  her  boys  should  come  of  age. 

The  ancient  "Turkey-red"  dyers  of  Thyatira  sent 
their  goods  westward  for  sale  in  the  Roman  colonies 
of  Greece  and  Macedonia,  as  our  manufacturers  send 
theirs  to  India  and  China.  Each  great  factory  in  Asia 
must  have  accredited  agents  in  the  several  marts  of 
Europe.  Probably  the  ship  that  bore  the  missionaries 
across  the  strait  a  week  before,  had  carried  some  bales 
of  purple  cloth  for  the  Roman  residents  of  Philippi;  and 


Lydia.  287 

the  heavy  goods  might  at  that  time  have  been  slowly 
winding  up  the  ascent  from  the  shore  to  the  city. 
Commerce  and  Christianity  in  those  days,  as  now, 
gravitated  to  the  same  centres,  and  flowed  in  the  same 
channels. 

This  honorable  woman  prosecuted  a  lawful  industr}\ 
She  went  into  a  far  country  to  earn  bread  for  herself 
and  her  children;  and  in  that  far  country  she  found  the 
life  of  her  soul.  Labor  is  honorable  and  healthful. 
Merchandise  is  specially  honorable  when  it  is  con- 
ducted with  truth  and  righteousness.  Merchants  are 
channels  through  which  the  precious  products  of  the 
earth  flow  and  reflow,  to  the  places  where  they  are 
needed,  to  minister  to  the  necessities  and  the  comforts 
of  men.  Blessed  are  those  buyers  and  sellers  who,  like 
Lydia,  find  in  the  intervals  of  ordinary  business  the 
pearl  of  great  price.  When  they  have  obtained  the 
true  riches  their  souls  will  not  again  cleave  to  the  dust. 
When  they  have  obtained  the  peace  of  God  in  Christ 
to  keep  their  hearts  and  minds,  they  will  not  be  too 
much  oppressed  by  care,  and  not  too  much  distracted 
by  fluctuations  in  the  market. 


LXV. 

L  YDIA. 


"And  a  certain  ivoinan  named  Lydia,  a  seller  of  purple,  of  the  city  of 
Thyatira,  luhich  'worshipped  God,  heard  us:  whose  heart  the  Lord  opened, 
that  she  attended  unto  the  things  zuhich  were  spoken  of  L^aul.  And  when 
she -was  baptized,  and  her  household,  she  besought  us,  saying,  Lf  ye  have 
judged  tiie  to  be  faithful  to  the  L^ord,  come  into  my  house,  and  abide 
there.     And  she  constrained  us.'" — Acts  xvi.  14,  15. 

Although  Lydia  attended  to  her  business,  she  did 
not  allow  it  to  occupy  her  whole  heart,  and  absorb  all 
her  time.  She  took  advantage  of  the  Sabbath  to  rest 
awhile  from  labor;  ajid  her  time  of  rest  she  filled  with 
the  worship  of  God,  and  the  society  of  the  good.  He 
who  lays  out  one  talent  well,  will  get  it  redoubled  soon. 
A  shed  for  shelter  in  a  sequestered  spot,  and  a  few  Jew- 


288  The   CJiurch   in  tJie  House. 

isli  women  for  fellow-worshippers,  and  probably  a  parch- 
ment containing  some  of  the  Scriptures  as  Sabbath 
lessons — these  constituted  the  extent  of  her  privileges. 
She  used  her  little  well,  and  more  was  given  to  her. 

Paul  and  Silas  went  to  the  place  on  that  Sabbath- 
day.  It  was  a  place  for  prayer.  Perhaps  there  had 
never  been  any  preaching  in  it.  The  women  had  often 
met,  and  prayed,  and  parted,  with  none  to  speak  to 
them.  They  would  read  the  Scriptures,  and,  like  the 
Ethiopian  prince,  would  bend,  and  sigh,  and  weep  over 
"  the  Lamb  led  to  the  slaughter;"  but  there  was  no  one 
near  who  could  answer  their  question,  "  Of  whom  speak- 
eth  the  prophet  this.''"  They  could  not  understand, 
and  there  was  none  to  guide  them.  But  they  perse- 
vered. At  last  a  distinguished  preacher  appeared— 
the  greatest  of  all  preachers,  led  to  the  spot  by  the 
same  Divine  Spirit  who  conducted  Philip  from  a  city 
of  Samaria  to  the  desert  of  Gaza.  At  last  a  sermon 
was  preached  in  the  praying  place,  and  it  took  effect. 

One  design  of  this  history  is  to  show  believers  in  all 
lands  and  all  ages,  that  the  Redeemer  is  near  his  peo- 
ple still,  and  orders  all  things  for  their  sakes.  The 
meeting  between  Paul  and  Lydia  was  arranged  in  hea- 
ven. When  the  missionaries  desired  to  prolong  their 
stay  in  Asia,  and  to  evangelize  another  province  there, 
the  Spirit  suffered  them  not;  for  the  same  reason  that 
at  a  former  time  the  Spirit  had  not  suffered  Philip  to 
remain  in  Samaria,  but  sent  him  into  the  desert.  Paul 
was  not  permitted  to  remain  in  Asia,  but  forwarded 
hastily  across  to  Europe;  for  a  group  of  women  con- 
vened in  a  shed  near  the  town  of  Philippi,  gave  the 
Lord  in  heaven  no  rest  until  he  should  send  them  a 
messenger  to  open  the  way  of  salvation.  The  Hearer 
of  prayer  could  not  bear  that  cry  another  week  without 
an  answer;  and  so  the  missionaries  must  leave  all  other 
work  behind,  and  hasten  to  the  spot.  There  some  in- 
quiring souls  were  thirsting  like  dry  land  for  the  living 
water;  and  Paul  was  the  vessel  chosen  to  contain  it 
and  bear  it  to  the  spot. 

The  Lord  opened  Lydia's  heart  so  that  she  attended 
to  the  things  that  were  spoken  by  Paul.  Although  no 
report  of  the  sermon  has  been  preserved,  we  know  well 
what  its  burden  would  be.     The  missionary,  not  know- 


Lydia.  289 

ing  whether  he  should  have  another  opportunity,  would 
preach  Christ  crucified.  He  would  make  plain  the  way 
of  pardon  through  the  blood  of  the  Lamb.  Now  it  is 
intimated  that  Lydia's  heart  needed  opening  ere  she 
could  attend  to  the  doctrines  of  grace.  Probably  the 
opening  was  a  process  that  had  been  going  on  for  a 
long  time.  From  day  to  day  her  heart  longed  more 
for  God;  from  day  to  day  her  prayer  rose  more  eagerly 
to  the  throne.  This  was  the  opening:  she  was  grow- 
ing ready  for  receiving  the  gospel. 

I  think  Lydia's  heart  was  opened  in  some  such  way 
as  the  gates  of  a  canal-lock  are  opened.  It  is  by  water 
coming  in  secretly  below,  and  gradually  swelling  up 
within,  that  at  length  the  folding-doors  allow  them- 
selves to  be  opened.  As  long  as  the  water  presses 
from  above  and  from  without,  the  pressure  tends  to 
shut  the  gates  more  firmly,  rather  than  to  open  them. 
The  lock  keeps  itself  empty,  and  resists  the  offer  of 
the  water  to  come  in.  But  when  by  secret  channels 
the  interior  is  nearly  filled,  then  the  resistance  ceases, 
and  the  gates  are  thrown  wide.  Ah,  many  an  empty 
heart  resists  the  offer  of  mercy  from  God;  the  offer  of 
that  mercy  rather  shuts  the  gates  more  firmly  !  But 
when  secretly  some  grace  finds  its  way  in,  and  more 
follows,  and  the  empty  space  gradually  fills,  then  the 
enmity  disappears,  and  the  whole  soul  opens  out  to 
Christ. 

It  was  by  receiving  some  grace  within  her  heart, 
that  Lydia  was  opened  to  receive  more.  She  was 
made  willing  in  the  day  of  the  Lord's  power. 

But  the  Lord  has  other  keys  at  hand  by  which  he 
sometimes  opens  closed  hearts.  There  are  diversities 
of  operations.  The  resistance  is  sometimes  gently  over- 
come by  droppings  silent  as  the  dew;  and  sometimes 
the  bolts  that  barred  an  unbelieving  heart  are  broken 
by  terrible  things  in  righteousness.  Some  sorrow  may 
have  crushed  this  industrious  widow,  and  so  prepared 
her  for  taking  in  the  healing  balm  of  the  gospel.  Was 
her  son  disobedient,  or  her  foreman  unfaithful;  or  was 
the  current  of  trade  changing  its  channel,  and  threat- 
ening to  leave  her  business  to  break  in  pieces  like  a 
stranded  ship  .'*  By  any  of  these  operations,  or  by  others 
different  from  all  these,  the  Lord  may  have  conducted 


290  The   ChurcJi   in   the  House. 

the  process  of  opening,  so  that  when  the  word  of  the 
kingdom  came,  it  found  ready  entrance. 

It  is  good  to  wait  on  the  Lord,  both  for  our  own  re- 
freshing and  for  the  quickening  of  those  whom  we  love. 
Watch  and  pray.  We  do  not  know  when  the  Bride- 
groom may  pass.  Let  us  and  ours  be  ever  ready  to 
follow  him  in  to  the  marriage-supper.  The  Bride- 
groom passed  the  place  of  prayer  that  day  on  the  out- 
skirts of  Philippi,  and  Lydia,  with  her  lamp  well-trimmed, 
was  on  the  alert  to  hear  his  approaching  footsteps,  and 
follow  him  to  the  feast. 

Even  the  preaching  of  Paul  did  not  save  unless  an 
opened  heart  attended  to  it  and  took  it  in.  In  this  ex- 
ample of  primitive  preaching,  it  is  made  clear  that  more 
depends  on  the  preparation  of  the  hearer,  than  on  the 
preacher's  skill.  The  Master,  in  the  parable  of  the 
Sower,  has  clearly  shown  the  necessity  of  two  conspir- 
ing things — the  good  seed  sown,  and  the  ground  bro- 
ken soft  to  receive  it.  Alas  !  how  much  precious  seed 
falls  on  the  beaten  wayside,  and  bears  no  fruit,  when 
hearers'  hearts  are  trodden  hard  and  smooth  by  a  week 
of  cares  and  pleasures,  and  the  preaching  on  the  Sab- 
bath takes  no  effect  !  We  have  in  our  day,  through 
God's  good  hand  upon  us,  much  good  seed;  oh  for  bro- 
ken ground  !  The  preparation  of  the  heart  is  from  the 
Lord. 

Lydia  and  her  house  were  admitted  into  the  Church 
by  baptism.  Glad  and  grateful,  she  offered  hospitality 
to  the  strangers,  and  pressed  them  to  accept  it.  From 
them,  or  at  least  through  them,  she  had  received  an 
immeasurable  spiritual  good;  and  it  is  the  instinct  of 
her  new  nature  to  take  pleasure  in  imparting  temporal 
things  to  the  servants  of  her  Lord.  Here,  in  Lydia's 
opened  heart,  rises  the  spring  which  the  Master  has 
provided  to  supply  the  temporal  wants  of  his  minister's, 
in  all  lands  and  all  times. 


TJie  PytJioncss.  291 


LXVI. 

THE  PYTHONESS. 

"  And  it  came  to  pass,  as  zuc  went  to  prayer,  a  certain  damsel  possessed 
unth  a  spirit  of  divination  met  us,  which  brought  her  masters  much  gain 
by  soothsaying:  the  same  folloioed  Paul  and  us,  and  cried,  saying.  These 
men  are  the  servants  of  the  most  high  God,  which  show  unto  us  the  way 
of  salvation,''  etc. — ACTS  xvi.  16-24. 

Hitherto  in  the  experience  of  the  missionaries  per- 
secution had  always  originated  with  the  Jews.  At 
this  place,  however,  they  were  few  and  destitute  of  in- 
fluence. In  these  parts  of  the  empire  the  Jews  were 
themselves  crushed,  and  so  they  lacked  the  power  to 
crush  the  Christians.  Here  the  opposition  sprang  di- 
rectly from  the  Gentiles. 

As  they  went  on  some  subsequent  occasion  to  the 
place  of  prayer,  a  slave  damsel,  "possessed  with  a 
spirit  of  divination,"  followed  them,  uttering  a  remark- 
able testimony  in  favor  of  the  apostles  as  the  servants 
of  the  Most  High  God.  This  slave  was  owned  by  a 
company  of  speculators.  Great  gains  might  be  made 
from  the  oracles,  half  mad  and  apparently  half  inspired, 
which  she  uttered.  A  copartnership  was  formed  to 
manage  the  concern.  They  bought  the  slave,  and 
farmed  out  her  oracles  to  the  credulous.  This  was 
the  ordinary  form  of  the  heathen  oracles.  A  priestess 
either  permanently  possessed,  or  artificially  thrown 
into  a  raving  condition  at  certain  times,  was  concealed 
in  the  shrine.  From  her  mouth  ambiguous  answers 
issued,  and  skilful  attendants  wrote  them  down  for  the 
superstitious  inquirers.  Wicked  men  fabricated  the  im- 
posture, and  the  wicked  spirit  availed  himself  of  the 
])repared  deceit.  The  people  were  both  deceiving  and 
being  deceived.  Such  was  the  moral  condition  of  the 
community  into  which  the  gospel  of  Christ  was  making 
its  entrance.  Such  was  the  corruption  of  that  earth 
upon  which  the  salt  was  about  to  be  spread. 

The  raving  Pythoness  followed  Paul  and  his  com- 
pany, crying  out  in  an  excited  and  passionate  voice,  but 


292  The   Chia'ch   in  the  House. 

emitting  an  unexpectedly  sober  and  far-reaching  tes- 
timony in  favor  of  the  missionaries  and  their  work. 
Such  a  witness  was  borne  by  the  possessed  man  to 
Jesus  when  he  cried  out,  "  I  know  thee  who  thou  art, 
the  Holy  One  of  God."  These  testimonies  were  per- 
haps expressions  of  the  victims,  emitted  at  momentary 
intervals  of  freedom  contrary  to  the  will  of  the  pos- 
sessing spirit.  Perhaps  the  hope  of  the  captive  some- 
how revived  at  the  approach  in  the  one  case  of  the  Mas- 
ter, and  in  the  other  of  his  servant  Paul.  So  the  captives 
lately  held  in  cruel  bondage  by  the  Emperor  of  Ab- 
yssinia remained  quiet,  and  seemed  submissive  to  the 
tyrant,  while  no  help  was  near,  but  changed  their  tone 
and  defied  him  when  the  British  army  appeared  at  Mag- 
dala.  This  enthralled  human  spirit  seemed  to  speak 
out  with  courage  when  deliverance  was  nigh. 

When  this  had  continued  many  days  Paul  was  grieved 
at  the  interruption,  and  had  compassion  on  the  captive. 
Remembering  the  commission  given  by  the  Lord  to  his 
ministers,  he  cast  the  evil  spirit  out  by  the  name  and 
power  of  Jesus  Christ.  The  slave  was  restored  to  her 
right  mind.  No  more  the  wild  rolling  eye,  and  no 
longer  the  fitful,  incoherent  ravings  which  the  evil 
spirit  had  palmed  upon  the  people  as  superhuman  in- 
spirations. But  the  investment  of  the  greedy  share- 
holders had  lost  its  value.  We  paid  so  many  thousands 
to  her  owner  for  this  woman,  and  now,  though  we  pos- 
sess the  legal  right  to  her  services  as  a  slave,  all  that 
she  will  bring  in  that  capacity  will  not  reimburse  us  for 
a  tithe  of  our  outlay.  Here  is  a  predicament.  The 
gains  are  gone;  Paul  and  Silas  are  the  cause  of  all  the 
loss.  A  mob  is  gathered;  a  tumult  is  excited;  an  as- 
sault is  made  upon  the  strangers.  The  apostles  are 
dragged  into  the  forum,  and  accused  before  the  mag- 
istrates as  the  propagators  of  a  faith  not  recognized 
by  Roman  law. 

To  give  force  to  their  charge,  the  accusers  are  care- 
ful to  intimate  that  the  prisoners  are  Jews.  Already 
the  Jews  had,  in  a  violent  tumult,  been  expelled  from 
Rome,  and  the  colony  will  imitate  the  metropolis. 
Both  the  populace  and  the  magistrates  will  readily 
receive  an  accusation  against  men  of  that  hated  and 
persecuted  nation. 


The  PytJioncss.  29.3 

Stirred  up  by  this  great  outcry,  and  thinking  they 
might  safely  perpetrate  any  outrage  upon  Jews,  who 
were  beyond  the  pale  of  the  law,  the  magistrates — two 
men  who  exercised  authority  over  the  colony — stripped 
the  accused,  and  commanded  the  lictors  to  beat  them 
with  rods.  Many  stripes  were  inflicted  before  the  cruel 
appetite  of  the  mob  was  satiated.  It  is  difficult  for  us 
to  estimate  the  severity  of  this  punishment.  The  vic- 
tim was  beaten  on  the  naked  flesh  with  thick  rods  by 
trained  professional  executioners.  The  insignia  of  a 
Roman  ruler  consisted  of  a  bunch  of  rods  tied  together 
like  a  sheaf,  and  an  axe  protruding  from  the  end  of  the 
bundle.  The  rods  symbolized  secondary,  and  the  axe 
capital,  punishment. 

After  the  scourging  the  missionaries  were  cast  into 
prison.  The  magistrates  did  not  prescribe  the  treat- 
ment in  detail,  but  they  gave  a  general  charge  that 
these  men  should  be  kept  with  special  security,  and 
left  the  jailer  to  adopt  his  own  methods.  That  officer, 
with  an  eye  to  his  own  safety,  shut  them  in  an  interior 
cell  of  exceptional  strength,  and  fixed  their  feet  in  the 
stocks  besides. 

On  another  occasion,  when  he  was  himself  in  chains, 
Paul  exulted  in  the  remembrance  that  the  word  of 
God  was  not  bound  (2  Tim.  ii.  9).  He  meant  that 
God's  word  to  men  might  have  free  course  through  the 
Roman  world  although  one  of  its  preachers  was  si- 
lenced. There  is  another  sense  in  which  ivord  may 
go  free  although  the  speaker's  body  is  bound  in  chains. 
Not  only  the  word  that  comes  from  God,  but  also  the 
word  that  goes  to  God,  is  free  though  the  speaker  be 
in  fetters,  Christ  is  the  way,  and  that  way  lies  open 
up  to  the  Father's  presence  when  the  prison-doors  have 
shut  upon  a  suppliant.  The  word  which  an  afflicted 
child  pours  into  the  Father's  ear  was  not  bound  that 
night  in  the  prison  of  Philippi.  The  stocks  had  no 
power  to  grasp  prayer,  and  hinder  it  from  ascending 
heavenward.  Blessed  be  God,  nothing  can  block  the 
way  of  prayer.  It  is  long  since  the  record  was  written, 
"Out  of  the  depths  have  I  cried  unto  thee:"  and  I  sup- 
pose, when  the  books  arc  opened,  it  will  be  found  that 
most  of  the  cries  that  have  really  reached  the  throne 
were  cries  that  ascended  from  the  deep.     It  is  when 


294  ^-^^^   ClntrcJi  in   the  House. 

)^ou  look  from  the  bottom  of  a  well  that  you  descry 
the  stars  in  dayHght;  on  the  surface,  with  the  glare 
all  round,  although  they  are  there,  you  cannot  discern 
them.  It  is  thus  that  faith's  eye  cannot  pierce  the 
heavens  so  well  from  the  bright  surface  of  prosperity 
as  from  the  low,  low  place  of  some  great  sorrow. 

We  may  leave  Paul  and  Silas  in  the  dungeon  for  the 
night.  The  Lord  that  bought  them  will  so  reveal  him- 
self to  his  witnesses,  that  the  darkness  shall  be  light 
about  them. 


LXVII. 

SONGS  LV  THE  NIGHT. 

*' And  at  7)tidnigkt  Paul  and  Silas  prayed,  and  sang  praises  unto  God: 
and  the  prisoners  heard  thein.^'' — Acts  xvi.  25. 

"  Praying,  they  hymned  God:  "  for  such  are  the  words 
when  literally  rendered.  Prayer  and  praise  in  the  dun- 
geon that  night  were  not  two  distinct  and  successive 
acts.  They  sang  in  concert  their  address  to  God:  and, 
doubtless,  like  the  psalms  of  David,  the  address  included 
both  requests  for  mercy  and  ascriptions  of  praise.  It 
may,  indeed,  have  been  the  psalms  of  David  that  they 
sang — both  the  prisoners  had  the  verses  by  heart:  they 
had  not  a  book,  and  did  not  need  one. 

God  heard  their  prayer,  we  know,  for  he  gave  it  a 
signal  answer.  But  there  were  also  other  listeners  : 
"the  prisoners  heard  them."  One  would  like  to  know 
who  these  prisoners  were.  Like  the  contents  of  other 
prisons,  they  were  probably  of  various  characters  and 
conditions.  Some  may  have  been  the  callous  habitues 
of  the  place;  and  some  may  have  been  men  of  the  high- 
est consideration,  awaiting  trial  for  political  offences. 
But  to  all  the  inmates  alike  the  sound  of  psalms  at 
midnight  would  seem  strange  and  startling.  It  was 
probably  whispered  through  the  prison  in  the  evening 
that  two  Jews  had  been  brought  in — severely  scourged 
— accused   of  teachine  some   new  doctrine   regarding 


S(f>i^s  in  tJic  N'igJit.  295 

the  resurrection  of  the  dead.  Then  the  tender  yet  joy- 
ful song  of  two  blended  voices  rose  on  the  midnight 
silence  of  the  prison.  The  wakeful  listened,  and  the 
slumberers  awoke.  The  hymn  was  probably  in  the 
Greek  tongue,  and  the  more  acute  ears  would  catch 
glimpses  of  its  meaning. 

That  was  a  night  much  to  be  remembered  by  the 
inmates  of  the  jail.  It  is  altogether  probable  that  some 
who  heard  that  strange  psalm-singing  were  among  the 
Philippian  Christians  to  whom  Paul  subsequently  ad- 
dressed his  most  affectionate  letter  from  another  prison 
in  Rome. 

"Songs  in  the  night"  are  the  special  gift  of  God, 
and  they  are  well  fitted  to  arrest  attention  and  impress 
their  mark.  When  there  is  evidence  of  peace  with  God 
prevailing  over  the  heaviest  of  outward  troubles,  it  takes 
effect  on  the  conscience  of  an  observer.  It  is  a  great 
thing  to  see  one  taken  up  from  a  miry  pit,  and  his  feet 
set  upon  a  rock  and  his  goings  established;  but  it  is 
when  a  new  song  is  put  into  his  mouth  that  many  shall 
see  it  and  shall  fear,  and  shall  trust  in  the  Lord  (Ps. 
xl.).  It  is  specifically  joy  in  believing  when  it  bursts 
forth  in  great  tribulation  that  takes  effect  on  others  and 
wins  them  to  the  Lord. 

A  lamp  when  lighted  may  burn  by  day,  but  it  is  only 
at  night  that  it  is  seen  by  the  neighborhood.  The  dark- 
ness does  not  kindle  or  cause  the  light,  but  the  darkness 
reveals  it  and  spreads  it  around.  It  is  thus  that  consist- 
ent joy  in  the  Lord,  when  believers  attain  it  in  a  time 
of  trouble,  becomes  an  effective  testimony  for  Christ. 
Not  a  few  owe  their  conversion  instrumentally  to  the 
light  that  streamed  from  a  saint  in  the  hour  of  his  de- 
parture— to  the  song  that  rose  from  the  pilgrim  when 
he  was  traversing  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death. 

Thus,  though  the  speakers  were  bound  that  night, 
the  Word  was  free;  not  only  the  word  that  went  up- 
ward to  the  throne  of  God,  but  also  the  echo  of  that 
word,  that  pierced  the  gloomy  partition-walls  and  sank 
into  the  startled  ears  of  weary  and  wretched  prisoners. 
It  seemed  a  roundabout  road  that  the  Word  of  the  gos- 
l>el  took  to  reach  these  motley  groups  of  Greek  and 
Latin  Gentiles;  but  the  Word  did  not  miss  its  way. 
There  was  a  dead-wall  between  the  apostles  and  their 


296  Tlie   Church  in   the  House. 

audience,  and  therefore  they  did  not  preach  that  night. 
But  there  was  no  wall  between  them  and  the  Father 
of  their  spirits:  praying,  they  hymned  God  in  the  in- 
ner prison,  and  the  prayer  sent  upward  fell  down  again 
on  the  other  side  of  the  partition,  falling  there  on  lis- 
tening ears.  In  this  circuitous  method  the  gospel 
reached  some  needy  souls. 

It  is  thus  that  in  modern  warfare  they  often  over- 
come a  fortress  which  is  too  strong  to  be  taken  by  di- 
rect assault.  The  wall  frowns  thick  and  high  between 
the  defenders  and  the  assailants.  No  missile  sent  in  a 
direct  line  can  touch  the  protected  garrison.  The  be- 
siegers in  such  a  case  throw  their  balls  high  into  the 
heavens:  these  fall  within  the  inclosure,  and  do  more 
execution  in  their  fall  than  they  could  have  done  by 
direct  impact  on  the  walls.  When  a  good  soldier  of 
Jesus  Christ  cannot  by  direct  preaching  of  the  gospel 
reach  the  ears  and  hearts  of  men  to  subdue  and  win 
them,  he  may  sometimes  effectively  accomplish  his  ob- 
ject by  prayer  and  praise.  His  arrow,  going  first  up- 
ward, may  in  its  descent  wound  some  conscience  and 
subdue  some  soul. 

Christian  families  or  groups,  travelling  in  Romish 
or  otherwise  darkened  districts,  might  in  this  way 
scatter  blessings  on  their  track.  They  may  possibly 
not  possess  talent  or  find  opportunity  for  preaching; 
but  if,  in  the  evening  in  the  hotel,  they  should  "pray 
and  sing  praises  to  God,"  some  prisoners  might  hear 
and  turn  to  the  Lord. 

But  the  same  lesson  admits  of  application  on  a 
greater  scale  and  nearer  home.  Some  disciples  of 
Christ  have  the  misfortune  to  dwell  in  an  ungodly 
neighborhood.  But  alongside  of  the  misfortune,  if 
they  are  watchful,  a  privilege  lies.  If  their  lamp  burn, 
the  surrounding  darkness  will  reveal  and  utilize  its 
light.  Satan's  prisoners  are  within  earshot  of  Christ's 
freemen.  Perhaps  a  hard  partition  of  prejudice  shuts  out 
the  ungodly  from  direct  instruction  and  reproof;  but 
nothing  can  defend  them  from  the  indirect  stroke  which 
Paul  and  Silas  dealt  on  their  fellow-prisoners  at  Phil- 
ippi.  Let  the  prayer-hymn  rise,  soft  and  sweet,  from 
the  church  in  the  house  when  the  door  is  shut;  and 
the  notes  sent  up  to  heaven  will  drop  down  again  into 


Sojtgs  in  the  Night.  297 

houses  where  no  church  meets.  The  indirect  method 
is  the  best  for  reaching  the  rouc^h,  ungainly  elements 
that  crowd  and  cluster  in  the  centres  of  modern  cities. 
Some  sprinkling  of  "the  salt  of  the  earth"  in  close 
contact  with  the  corruption,  would,  under  God,  be  the 
most  effectual  healer. 

Of  late  years  many  instances  have  occurred  of  songs 
being  given  in  the  night  to  miners  imprisoned  by  some 
catastrophe  in  the  recesses  of  a  coal-pit.  The  most 
touching  example  I  know  is  at  once  the  latest  and  the 
nearest.  It  occurred  a  few  weeks  since,  on  the  waters 
of  the  Forth  estuary  opposite  Edinburgh.  Three  fish- 
ermen belonging  to  Newhaven  went  out  in  their  boat 
at  night  to  ply  their  calling.  A  sudden  squall  upset 
their  boat.  All  three  rose  to  the  surface,  and  laid 
hold  of  the  capsized  boat.  Sustaining  themselves  thus 
above  water,  they  alternately  conversed  on  the  subject 
of  the  preceding  Sabbath's  sermon,  and  sang  hymns 
which  they  had  by  heart.  First  one,  and  then  anoth- 
er, after  bidding  affectionate  farewell,  let  go  through 
weariness,  and  passed  away  from  suffering  into  rest. 
A  pilot-boat  bore  down  on  the  wreck  in  time  to  save 
the  strongest  man,  the  single  survivor.  From  his  lips 
came  the  narrative  of  their  experience  while  they  trod 
together  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death.  In  cir- 
cumstances still  more  dreadful  than  those  of  Paul  and 
Silas  at  Philippi,  they  also  obtained  songs  in  the  night. 

By  the  use  of  the  imperfect  tense,  it  is  clearly  indi- 
cated in  the  history  that  the  missionaries  were  hymn- 
ing God,  and  the  astonished  prisoners  in  other  cells 
pricking  up  their  ears  to  listen,  when  the  crash  of  the 
earthquake  came.  The  psalm  was  cut  short  in  the 
middle  of  a  verse  and,  the  sense,  which  the  listeners 
strained  to  gather,  broken  off  before  it  was  completed. 
The  foundations  of  the  prison  were  shaken,  so  that  the 
doors  were  thrown  open,  but  the  walls  were  not  thrown 
down.  The  jailer  living  in  some  wing  apart,  did  not 
hear  the  song,  but  was  awakened  by  the  earthquake. 
Mark  here  God's  mercy  in  its  fullness  and  overflowing. 
Those  who  cannot  or  will  not  hear  the  still  small  voice 
of  praise,  will  be  aroused  by  a  providential  visitation. 
They  are  not  suddenly  destroyed,  but  sharply  shaken, 
that  they  may  hear  and  live.     God  is  long  suffering. 


298  The   Church  in  the  House. 

If  he  had  cast  us  off  and  shut  us  out  on  our  refusal  of 
one  invitation,  where  would  most  of  us  have  been  to- 
day? He  has  waited  to  be  gracious.  When  we  turned 
a  deaf  ear  to  his  Word,  he  has  made  the  earth  shake 
beneath  us,  that  we  might  be  compelled  to  listen  for 
our  own  life. 


LXVIII. 

THE   JAILER. 


^^  And  suddenly  there  tvas  a  great  earthquake,  so  that  the  foundations 
of  the  prison  luere  shaken:  and  immediately  ail  the  doors  were  opened, 
and  every  one'' s  bands  ivere  loosed.  And  the  keeper  of  the  prison  awak- 
ing out  of  his  sleep,  and  seeing  the  prison  doors  open,  he  drew  out  his 
s%uord,  and  would  have  killed  himself  supposing  that  the  prisoners  had 
been  fled.  But  Paul  cried  with  a  loud  voice,  saying.  Do  thyself  no  harm; 
for  we  are  all  here,"'  etc. — Acts  XVI.  26-31. 

The  jailer's  first  thought  was  suicide.  This  was  the 
highest  point  to  which  heathen  culture  could  soar.  It 
was  held  in  high  repute  among  the  Romans.  In  par- 
ticular, at  this  same  town,  Philippi,  many  illustrious 
examples  of  self-destruction  had  occurred.  In  a  battle 
near  this  place,  the  republicans  were  finally  defeated 
by  the  imperial  army.  The  vanquished  patriots,  know- 
ing no  way  of  escape,  died  in  great  numbers  by  their 
own  hands.  It  is  quite  possible  that  the  proximity  of 
these  events  may  have  raised  suicide  to  an  exceptional 
measure  of  honor  in  Philippi. 

The  keeper  supposed  that  his  prisoners  must  have 
escaped.  Remembering  the  special  charge  connected 
with  the  two  strangers  recently  committed,  he  believed 
that  his  life  was  forfeited,  and  determined  not  to  await 
the  humiliation  of  condemnation  and  punishment.  Paul 
rushes  to  the  rescue,  eager  to  save  life.  Quickly  he 
adopts  the  most  direct  and  efficacious  means.  "We 
are  all  here  !  "  he  exclaimed:  he  has  hit  the  nail  on  the 
head.  He  has  removed  in  a  moment  the  cause,  and 
the  intended  effect  falls  to  the  ground.  The  safety  of 
all  the  prisoners  removed  the  jailer's  fears:  his  hand 


The  Jailer.  299 

dropped  from  the  sword's  hilt,  and  the  horrid  deed  was 
left  undone. 

Relieved  now,  and  relieved  completely  from  his  first 
fear,  a  second  instantly  seizes  him.  "  He  called  for  a 
lii^ht,  and  sprans^  in,  and  came  trembling."  Trem- 
bling }  what  makes  the  man  tremble  now,  when  his  dan- 
ger is  all  removed  .''  Not  a  prisoner  has  escaped;  the 
magistrates  have  not  a  case  against  him.  Why  is  he 
still  in  terror  } 

This  is  another  fear.  In  a  moment,  one  great  fear 
left  him.  and  another,  a  greater,  took  possession  of  his 
heart.  It  has  been  suggested  by  some  critics,  that  this 
is  the  first  terror  not  yet  removed, — that  the  displeas- 
ure of  his  superiors  is  still  the  cause  of  his  apprehen- 
sion,— and  that  his  cry,  "What  must  I  do  to  be  saved?" 
pointed  to  the  punishment  due  to  the  officer  who  slum- 
bered at  his  post.  Those  who  take  this  view  of  the 
history  must  be  under  a  strong  doctrinal  bias;  for  it  is 
a  view  that  is  forced  and  unnatural.  It  is  interesting, 
even  as  a  critical  study,  to  mark  how  manifold  and 
complete  is  the  evidence  that  his  fear  and  his  question 
now  point  to  pardon  and  peace  with  God.  (i.)  Had  the 
object  of  his  fear  been  punishment  by  his  superiors,  he 
would  not  have  fallen  on  his  knees  before  Paul  and  Si- 
las. They  had  no  power  to  shield  him.  Rut  he  had 
now  the  presentiment  that  these  men  were  servants  of 
the  Most  High  God,  who  could  show  him  the  way  of  sal- 
vation. On  this  supposition,  his  act  becomes  rational 
and  consistent.  (2.)  The  answer  which  they  gave  him 
shows  what  they  understood  by  his  question.  They 
enjoyed  the  best  opportunity  of  knowing  what  he 
meant.  They  saw  in  his  terror  his  conviction  of  sin: 
they  so  understood  his  question,  as  to  answer  it  by 
offering  him  Christ.  (3.)  And  the  man  was  satisfied 
with  the  answer  he  obtained.  Assuredly,  if  he  had 
feared  for  his  head  on  account  of  the  prison  being  open, 
to  believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  would  not  have  pro- 
tected him  from  the  sentence  of  his  heathen  masters 
on  the  morrow. 

For  his  first  fear,  the  appropriate  and  sufficient  cure 
was  the  assurance,  "We  are  all  here;"  for  his  second, 
the  appropriate  and  sufficient  cure  was,  "  Believe  in 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ."     These  two  distinct  and  sue- 


300  TJie   CJnircJi   in   tJic  Hojisc. 

cessive  consolations  show  what  were  the  two  fears 
which  in  rapid  succession  had  occupied  and  oppressed 
his  heart.  The  first  fear  was,  lest  he  should  lose  his 
life  for  allowing  the  prisoners  to  escape;  the  second 
fear  was,  lest  he  should  be  cast  out  of  God's  presence 
because  of  his  sin.  Although  it  is  not  necessary  that 
we  should  be  able  to  trace  the  way  of  the  Spirit  in  the 
rapid  succession  of  this  man's  experiences,  the  diffi- 
culty would  be  much  diminished  if  we  should  suppose 
that  the  jailer  was  an  attentive  observer  of  events, 
and  was  acquainted  with  all  the  circumstances  that 
led  to  the  commitment  of  the  apostles.  The  things 
had  not  happened  in  a  corner.  The  strange  persistent 
cry  of  the  Pythoness,  articulately  acknowledging  these 
men  as  servants  of  the  Most  High  God,  and  the  subse- 
quent change  in  her  attitude  and  conduct,  were  matters 
of  notoriety  in  the  city.  Now,  although  the  jailer  did 
not,  when  he  received  his  prisoners  in  the  evening,  be- 
lieve them  to  be  the  divinely  inspired  teachers  of  a 
new  salvation;  yet,  if  he  was  aware  that  this  character 
had  been  ascribed  to  them  in  the  raving  responses  of 
the  prophetess,  the  shock  of  the  earthquake  at  mid- 
night would  in  a  moment  throw  a  new  light  over  the 
whole  scene.  The  startling  announcement  which  he 
had  heard  with  incredulity,  and,  perhaps,  with  sarcas- 
tic hilarity,  in  the  sunshine  of  the  preceding  day,  might 
suddenly  flash  upon  his  conscience  as  a  truth,  when 
the  earthquake  had  thrown  open  the  doors,  and  yet 
the  prisoners  had  not  made  their  escape  in  the  darkness. 
These  things  are  written  for  our  admonition.  The 
word  that  records  them  is  a  die  deeply  cut,  that  will 
receive  broken  hearts  in  succession  till  the  end  of  the 
world  come,  and  mould  them  anew,  and  turn  them  out 
new  creatures  in  Christ.  The  cutting  of  that  die  at  first 
was  a  great  work:  it  was  engraven  when  the  Son  of  God 
was  exceeding  sorrowful  even  unto  death.  The  drops 
were  eating  deeply  in  when  he  cried,  "If  it  be  possible, 
let  this  cup  pass."  It  could  not  pass;  it  was  poured 
out  to  the  dregs.  That  fiery  out-pouring  cut  its  way 
in,  and  formed  the  matrix  into  which  melted  men  might 
afterwards  be  cast.  Only  one  such  type  was  ever  formed. 
None  other  than  "  God  with  us"  could  endure  the  bap- 
tism.    Only  one  such  type  was  made  in  the  d)'ing  of 


•  The  Jailer.  30 1 

the  Lord  Jesus;  but  it  serves  for  all  the  world,  and  for 
all  time.  Whosoever  will,  let  him  come.  Let  melted 
hearts  flow  in;  and  forthwith  they  become  new. 

This  precious  answer,  "Believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  and  thou  shalt  be  saved,"  it  is  not  easy  to  de- 
scribe and  define.  If  you  were  asked  to  explain  what 
sunlight  is,  you  would  not  know  how  to  answer.  There 
is  nothing  better  known  to  those  who  see;  but  there  is 
nothing  more  difficult  to  make  known  to  those  who 
are  born  blind. 

Manifestly  it  behoved  Paul  on  this  occasion  to  put 
into  his  answer  the  whole  marrow  of  the  gospel.  If  it 
is  possible  to  give  in  one  mouthful  the  essence  of  all 
that  he  ever  preached,  he  is  bound  to  give  it  here  and 
now.  We  are  warranted  in  assuming  that  this  answer 
contained  all  that  is  necessary  to  salvation,  and  noth- 
ing more.  There  is  not  too  little:  there  is  not  too 
much.  It  is  manifestly  a  matter  of  life  and  death;  and 
it  is  at  his  peril  if  the  apostle  treat  it  otherwise.  The 
penitent  sprang  in,  and  fell  down,  and  cried.  His  cry 
was,  "What  must  I  do  to  be  saved  .''"  The  missionaries 
are  bound,  as  they  shall  answer  to  God,  to  tell  the  man 
this,  and  at  the  moment  nothing  else.  It  would  have 
been  to  trifle  both  with  the  sinner  and  the  Saviour, 
either  to  have  kept  back  anything  essential,  or  to  have 
dallied  with  redundant  prescriptions.  The  missionaries 
are  equal  to  the  crisis.  They  spring  out  as  eagerly  and 
sharply  as  the  jailer  springs  in.  He  hungers:  they  give 
him  the  bread  of  life.  He  is  lost:  they  offer  him  the 
Saviour.  They  give  him  enough;  and  nothing  more. 
Believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  thou  shalt  be 
saved. 


302  TJie   CJnircJi  in  the  House. 

LXIX. 

FAITH  AND    OBEDIENCE. 

"And  they  said,  Believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  thou  shilt  be 
saved,  and  thy  house.  And  they  spake  unto  him  the  word  of  the  Lord, 
and  to  all  that  were  in  his  house.  And  he  took  them  the  same  hour  of 
the  night  and  washed  their  stripes;  and  was  baptized,  he  and  all  his, 
straightway.  And  when  he  had  brought  them  into  his  house,  he  set  vieat 
before  them,  and  rejoiced,  believing  in  God  with  all  his  house,''''  etc. 
—Acts  xvi.  31-40. 

Can  faith  save  you,  then,  without  works  ?  Suppose  a 
man  should  "believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,"  and 
continue  to  exhibit  a  profane  and  impure  life,  will  he 
be  saved  by  his  sound  faith  in  spite  of  his  wickedness  ? 
This  question  does  not  deserve  an  answer.  It  is  a 
foolish  question:  it  assumes  an  impossibility. 

Suppose  one  should  address  to  an  eminent  physician 
the  question,  Pray,  sir,  tell  me,  is  the  blood  necessary 
to  life }  and  he  should  answer,  It  is.  Suppose  the  ques- 
tioner then  proceeds  to  say,  But  if  a  great  artery  is  cut, 
and  all  the  blood  of  the  body  escapes,  and  the  man 
still  lives  and  acts  with  undiminished  vigor,  do  you 
persist  in  your  opinion  that  the  blood  is  necessary  to 
life  .-*  The  physician  will  not  answer.  You  have  put 
a  foolish  question,  and  he  treats  it  with  contempt.  Or, 
if  he  answer  at  all,  he  will  say,  First  show  me  a  living 
man  with  no  blood  in  his  body,  and  then  I  shall  con- 
sider the  causes  of  the  phenomenon. 

Such  treatment  he  deserves  who  inquires.  Shall  I  be 
saved  if  I  believe  in  Christ,  though  I  live  in  sin  .''  The 
supposition  is  an  impossibility.  To  believe  in  Christ 
as  that  jailer  believed  is  the  death-blow  to  the  reign 
of  sin  in  your  members,  as  the  letting  out  of  the  heart's- 
blood  puts  an  end  to  the  life.  People  who,  with  a 
whole  heart,  merely  talk  on  the  subject,  may  suggest 
many  objections  to  the  doctrine;  but  when  a  man  is 
convinced  of  sin  by  the  secret  power  of  the  Spirit,  and 
closes  with  Christ  as  his  sacrifice,  substitute,  right- 
eousness, and  intercessor,  he  is  at  that  moment  and  by 
that  act  placed  in  enmity  with  his  own  sin  as  fire  and 


Faith  and  Obedience.  303 

water  are  at  enmity.     When  he  is  in  Christ,  he  is  a 
new  creature. 

Surely,  if  people  would  apply  their  minds  to  the 
subject,  it  should  not  be  very  difficult  to  comprehend 
that  actual  obedience  by  the  man — that  is,  his  good 
works — must  be  withdrawn  from  the  ground  of  his 
hope,  and  take  a  place  as  the  fruit  of  his  faith. 

Here  is  a  water-channel  that  has  been  dry  all  the 
summer.  Straws  and  leaves  and  dust  have  accumu- 
lated in  it.  To  make  all  clean  and  clear  again,  you 
do  not  say,  Let  a  stream  of  water  be  poured  through 
it  from  the  fountain-head,  and  let  all  the  straws  and 
leaves  be  gathered  up  and  carried  away.  Let  the 
water  from  the  fountain-head  gush  into  the  neck  of 
the  channel,  and  it  will  sweep  away  the  miscellaneous 
rubbish  that  encumbered  the  course.  Thus  it  is  in  the 
spiritual  life.  It  is  not  faith  and  good  works  togethei 
that  make  salvation  sure.  Faith,  when  it  begins  to 
flow,  carries  works  in  its  train.  Faith  in  Christ  as 
your  substitute,  your  peace  with  God,  will  make  short 
work  of  the  ten  thousand  encumbrances  which  blocked 
the  channels  of  your  heart  and  life.  "  This  is  the  vic- 
tory which  overcometh  the  world,  even  your  faith." 

Even  in  the  brief  sketch  given  here  of  the  jailer's 
conversion,  you  see  beautiful  bunches  of  fruit  quickly 
ripening  on  the  branch  as  soon  as  it  is  in  the  Vine. 
He  took  them  the  same  hour  of  the  night,  and  washed 
their  stripes,  and  set  meat  before  them. 

The  current  of  this  man's  life  is  reversed.  He  could 
not  but  see  that  the  flesh  of  his  prisoners  was  lacerated 
by  the  rods.  He  did  not  ask  whether  they  were  hun- 
gry. As  the  easiest  way  of  securing  his  own  safety, 
he  thrust  them  into  the  inner  prison,  and  pinioned 
their  feet  in  locks  of  iron.  He  then  went  to  bed,  and 
slept  so  soundly  that  no  psalm-singing  disturbed  his 
rest.  He  did  not  awake  till  the  earthquake  awoke 
him.  All  care  in  the  evening  was  for  himself;  and 
his  selfishness  was  cruel.  Now,  when  the  midnight 
scene  had  passed,  he  has  no  care  about  himself;  all  his 
attention  is  devoted  to  his  prisoners.  Not  a  thought 
now  about  the  possible  displeasure  of  the  magistrates, 
if  they  should  learn  that  he  had  invited  these  notable 
prisoners  unguarded  into  his  own  house.     In  the  even- 


304  The   Church  in  the  House. 

ing  he  was  heedless  of  the  apostles'  wounds  and  hunger: 
now  he  washes  their  wounds  and  gives  them  bread. 
Behold  the  good  works  that  his  infant  faith  was  al- 
ready bearing !  These  were  the  first  duties  that  lay  to 
hand.  Give  me  the  subsequent  history  of  that  Chris- 
tian, and  I  will  show  you  in  it  other  things  to  match 
them.  Every  creature  after  its  kind;  and  the  new  crea- 
ture is  not  an  exception  to  the  rule.  His  faith  in  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  saved  him;  and  that  faith  instantly 
reversed  the  volume  of  his  life,  as  the  rising  tide  of  the 
ocean  meets  and  flings  back  the  river's  stream. 

This  is  a  crucial  case  as  to  the  power  of  faith  in 
Christ  to  save  a  sinner.  It  is  parallel  with  the  exam- 
ple of  the  thief  on  the  cross.  The  man  was  taken  in 
the  very  act  of  murder.  He  intended  to  take  away  his 
own  life;  and  according  to  the  principles  which  the  Lord 
laid  down,  the  intention  carried  within  it  the  guilt  of 
the  deed.  Suppose  now  that  Paul's  cry  had  been  one 
minute  too  late — that  the  uplifted  arm  had  fallen,  and 
that  the  dagger  had  severed  a  vital  artery.  Suppose 
that  the  wound  is  mortal,  but  that  the  life-blood  takes 
an  hour  to  ebb  away.  It  is  not  conceivable  that  the 
preacher  would  in  that  case  have  made  any  change  in 
his  terms.  The  word  would  still  have  been,  "Believe 
in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  thou  shalt  be  saved." 
Thus  an  offer  of  free  pardon  would  have  been  made  to 
the  murderer  while  the  blood  of  his  victim  was  still 
flowing  warm.  The  murderer  might  within  the  hour 
have  believed,  and  at  the  end  of  it  have  entered  into 
rest.  There  is  glory  to  God  in  the  freeness  and  fulness 
of  his  mercy. 

"  By  terrible  things  in  righteousness  wilt  thou  an- 
swer us,  O  God  of  our  salvation"  (Ps.  Ixv.  5).  The 
earthquake  was  the  answer  to  the  prayer  which  Paul 
and  Silas,  lying  on  their  backs,  hymned  upward  to  God 
in  heaven.  But  although  the  earthquake  could  open 
the  doors  of  the  prison,  it  could  not  break  the  bonds  in 
which  the  jailer's  soul  was  held.  In  that  sense  God 
was  not  in  the  earthquake.  After  the  earthquake  came 
a  still  small  voice  from  the  lips  of  the  imprisoned  mis- 
sionary; and  God  was  in  the  voice — God  our  Saviour. 
Before  the  power  of  that  voice  the  heathen's  heart  gave 
way,  and  flowed  down  like  water. 


Faith   and  0/n'dic?ici\  305 

When  a  man  begins  to  care  for  his  own  soul,  he  in- 
stantly cares  also  for  those  who  are  dear  to  him. 
Knowing  this  law  of  human  nature,  Paul  provides,  in 
the  same  breath,  comfort  in  regard  to  himself  and  in 
regard  to  his  house.  On  the  same  terms  the  jailer's 
family  will  be  received;  and  accordingly  the  word  of 
the  gospel  was  spoken  to  him  and  to  all  that  were  in  his 
house.  It  is  good  when  every  family  is  a  small  Church, 
and  every  Church  a  large  family. 

The  magistrates  of  the  city,  having  been  hurried  into 
the  arrest  by  the  daring  attitude  of  the  mob,  deter- 
mined next  morning  to  desert  the  diet  and  discharge 
the  prisoners.  Accordingly,  an  officer  was  sent  to  the 
prison,  with  an  order  for  their  release.  The  jailer  joy- 
fully proceeded  to  execute  the  order  of  his  superiors  ; 
but  Paul  saw  meet  to  stand  on  his  rights,  and  declined 
the  offer.  It  is  now  pretty  generally  acknowledged 
that  Paul  did  not  enjoy  the  privileges  of  a  Roman  cit- 
izen in  virtue  of  his  birth  in  the  free  city  of  Tarsus. 
Although  the  city  was  free,  its  freedom  did  not  confer 
the  dignity  of  Roman  citizenship  on  all  its  population. 
It  is  more  probable  that  the  honor  was  conferred  on 
some  of  the  apostles'  ancestors  for  services  rendered  to 
the  State.  It  was  the  custom  of  Roman  governors  so 
to  reward  loyal  services  in  the  provinces.  Alarmed  at 
the  claim  of  Paul,  the  magistrates  acceded  at  once  to 
his  demand.  They  came  in  person  to  the  prison,  and 
gave  the  prisoners  a  public  and  honorable  acquittal. 

This  was  not  a  display  of  pride  or  of  vengeance.  The 
apostles  did  not  court  suffering.  Rather,  for  their 
work's  sake,  they  desired  to  avoid  it.  They  saved 
their  lives  at  one  time  by  flight,  and  at  another  time  by 
invoking  the  protection  of  imperial  law  against  the  ex- 
cesses of  particular  magistrates.  There  is  no  fanati- 
cal rashness  in  their  conduct.  Their  conduct  is  guided 
bv  wisdom  and  couraee  and  common  sense. 


306  TJie   ChurcJi  in  the  Ho2ise. 

LXX. 

''MY  KINGDOM  IS  NOT  OF  THIS    WO  RID.'' 

''Now  70 hen  they  had  passed  through  Amphipolis  and  ApoUonia,  they 
came  to  Thessalonica,  where  was  a  synagogue  of  the  jfews:  and  Paul,  as 
his  vianner  was,  went  in  unto  them,  and  three  Sabbath  days  reasoned  with 
them  out  of  the  Scriptures,  opening  and  alleging,  that  Christ  must  needs 
have  suffered,  and  risen  again  from  the  dead;  and  that  this  fesus,  whom 
I  preach  unto  you,  is  Christ,'"  etc. — AcTS  xvn.  1-9. 

Another  missionary  journey  begins  here.  Leaving 
Timothy  and  Luke  in  charge  of  the  infant  Church  at 
Philippi,  Paul  and  Silas  pursued  their  journey  towards 
the  south-west — towards  Athens,  the  eye  of  Greece, 
I  think  the  good  soldier  of  Jesus  Christ  already  felt  the 
swelling  of  a  sanctified  ambition  to  meet  Athenian 
philosophers  on  their  own  chosen  field.  He  may,  for 
aught  I  know,  have  allowed  a  secret  consciousness  of 
power  to  lead  him  in  that  direction.  It  is  the  instinct 
of  a  warrior  to  seek  a  worthy  foe.  If  this  motive 
wrought  in  his  mind,  it  is  probable  that  his  pride  was 
soon  crushed;  for  he  does  not  seem  to  have  obtained 
so  much  success  at  Athens  as  elsewhere.  His  epistles 
to  the  Christians  of  Corinth,  Thessalonica,  and  Philippi 
attest  the  extent  and  solidity  of  his  work  in  these 
places;  but  although  he  enjoyed  an  opportunity  of  de- 
bating with  Stoics  and  Epicureans,  and  of  declaiming  in 
Mars'  Hill,  no  epistle  to  the  Athenians  remains  to 
edify  the  Church.  It  would  appear  that  the  soil  in 
which  human  speculation  grew  rank  was  not  well  fitted 
to  receive  and  nourish  the  living  seed  of  the  Word. 

Here  the  narrative  drops  the  first  person  and  as- 
sumes the  third;  this  is  the  only  intimation  of  the  fact 
that  at  this  point  Luke,  the  historian,  parted  company 
with  the  missionaries.  The  first  person  indicating  the 
presence  of  the  narrator,  is  not  resumed  until  we  reach 
chapter  xx. 

They  passed  through  Amphipolis  and  Apollonia, 
two  successive  stages  on  the  Roman  road  that  ex- 
tended from  the  Bosphorus  to  Rome,  and  came  to 
Thessalonica  at  a  distance  of  about  one  hundred  miles 


''My  Kingdovi  is  not  of  this    World."  307 

from  Philippl.  It  appears  that  the  Jews  possessed  no 
s}-nagogue  at  the  intermediate  stations,  and  therefore 
the  missionaries  made  no  halt  till  they  reached  the 
more  important  city  of  Thessalonica.  There  Paul, 
"as  his  manner  was,"  entered  the  synagogue,  and 
opened  his  commission  first  to  the  seed  of  Abraham. 

Three  Sabbath-days  he  reasoned  with  them  out 
of  the  Scriptures.  It  is  clear  from  the  result  that 
the  audience  on  these  occasions  was  not  limited  to 
Jews.  The  apostles  found  by  experience  that  by 
preaching  to  the  Jevv^s  they  found  the  readiest  access 
to  the  Gentiles.  The  Greeks  in  great  numbers,  both 
male  and  female,  came  into  the  synagogue  and  lis- 
tened to  these  distinguished  strangers.  The  preacher 
based  his  discourse  on  the  Scriptures.  His  method 
is  described  by  the  terms  "opening  and  alleging" — 
that  is  "  opening  out  and  laying  down." 

The  Old  Testament  he  treated  as  a  nut.  He  broke 
the  shell,  opened  out  the  kernel,  and  presented  it  as 
food  to  the  hungry.  The  Jews  were  like  little  children 
who  had  a  fruit-tree  in  their  garden,  their  father's  leg- 
acy. The  children  had  gathered  the  nuts  as  they  grew 
and  laid  them  up  with  reverence  in  a  storehouse;  but 
they  knew  not  how  to  break  open  the  shell,  and  so 
reach  the  kernel  for  food.  Paul  acts  the  part  of  elder 
brother  to  these  little  ones.  He  skilfully  pierces  the 
crust  and  extracts  the  fruit,  and  divides  it  among  them. 
The  passage,  for  example,  that  Philip  found  the  P^thi- 
opian  reading  on  the  road,  or  the  passover  lamb,  or 
the  second  Psalm,  he  opened,  and  from  it  brought 
Christ. 

This  able  reasoner  laid  down  a  major  and  a  minor; 
for  in  Greece  he  is  mindful  of  his  syllogism.  (On  his 
way  from  Philippi  he  had  passed  Stagirus,  the  birth- 
place of  Aristotle.) 

Major  premise:  The  Christ  expected  by  the  Jews 
must  suffer  and  die  and  rise  again. 

Minor  premise :  This  Jesus  whom  I  preach  unto 
you  suffered  and  died  and  rose  again. 

Conclusion:  Therefore  the  Jesus  whom  I  preach  unto 
you  is  the  Christ. 

But  it  is  not  logic  for  its  own  sake;  it  is  logic  grasped 
and  used  as  an  instrument  to  commend  Christ  to  sin- 


308  TJie   C/nirch   in   the  House. 

tiers.  Whatever  method  he  may  adopt  (and  in  that 
he  will  become  all  things  to  all  men)  he  will  know  no 
other  subject  than  Jesus  Christ  and  him  crucified.  They 
speak  of  successors  of  the  apostles;  their  best  success- 
ors are  those  who  walk  in  their  steps. 

The  result  is,  that  some  Jews  believed,  and  a  great 
multitude  of  Greek  proselytes  and  not  a  few  chief  wo- 
men. While  a  remnant  of  the  chosen  seed  is  gathered 
everywhere,  the  kingdom  is  in  the  main  gliding  over 
to  the  Gentiles.  Another  feature  of  the  success  is, 
that  almost  everywhere  the  higher  and  more  educated 
classes  are  attracted.  In  the  great  Greek  city  of  Thes- 
salonica  many  ladies  of  the  highest  social  standing 
were  arrested  and  converted.  This  doubtless  gave  the 
gospel  a  home  in  the  place  after  the  missionaries  were 
obliged  to  leave  it. 

"But  the  Jews  which  believed  not,"  etc.  Again  a 
conflict.  Woe  is  me  that  I  should  everywhere  be  a 
man  of  strife.  There  is  much  to  make  the  missionary 
weary,  and  induce  him  to  fling  up  his  commission  in 
disgust.  But  these  men  were  forewarned,  and  so  fore- 
armed. They  knew  that,  like  their  Master,  they  came 
not  to  give  peace  on  the  earth.  Wherever  the  two 
kingdoms  came  in  contact,  there  was  conflict.  No 
cross,  no  crown. 

The  army  that  assails  the  mission  here  is  an  allied 
host.  It  consists  of  two  different  but  confederated 
elements — of  the  Jews  who  believed  not,  and  of  certain 
lewd  fellows  of  the  baser  sort.  These  two  do  not  look 
with  kindly  eye  on  each  other,  but  they  unite  to  op- 
pose a  common  enemy.  This  is  not  a  new  experience. 
Herod  and  Pilate  become  friends  when  Christ  must  be 
crucified.  Pharisee  and  Sadducee,  at  daggers  drawn 
on  ordinary  occasions,  combine  to  compass  the  death, 
first  of  the  Master,  and  then  of  his  servants. 

The  unbelieving  Jews  allied  themselves  to  the  mob 
of  the  market-place,  in  order  to  silence  the  testimony  of 
the  apostles.  In  different  ages  and  countries  tyrants 
of  the  ruling  class  have  had  recourse  to  the  rabble  when- 
ever they  have  found  it  necessary  to  stifle  the  reprover's 
voice.  The  seething  caldron  of  a  large  city  always 
casts  up  a  quantity  of  such  scum.  A  multitude  swarm 
about  the  streets,  lacking  not  only  character  but  even 


''Mj'  Kiii^doin  is  not  of  this  Worlds  309 

clothes.  Persecutors  have  frequently  found  a  use  for 
these  off-scourings.  Christians  should  have  their  eyes 
on  the  same  class  for  another  purpose.  They  might 
be  turned  to  a  better  account.  If  they  were  won  and 
sanctified,  they  might  swell  the  ranks  of  the  white- 
robed  when  Christ  comes  to  be  glorified  in  his  saints. 

It  was  by  these  same  instruments  that  the  Jewish 
rulers  in  Jerusalem  compassed  the  death  of  Christ. 
They  engaged  the  mob  to  create  a  tumult,  and  there- 
by intimidated  the  governor.  Crucify  him !  crucify 
him  !  from  a  surging  excited  multitude  was  a  formid- 
able cry  for  a  governor  with  a  troublesome  province 
on  his  hand  and  a  small  garrison  at  his  disposal.  "  If 
they  have  persecuted  me,  they  will  also  persecute 
you;"  and  the  persecution  of  the  servants  follows  the 
type  of  that  which  the  Master  endured. 

It  is  a  remarkable  cry  that  was  raised  before  the 
magistrates  of  Thessalonica — "  These  that  have  turned 
the  world  upside  down  have  come  hither  also."  The 
rumor  of  the  great  effect  produced  by  the  preaching 
of  the  gospel  in  other  places  must  have  reached  the 
city.  After  making  allowance  for  the  tendency  to 
exaggeration  in  such  circumstances,  we  find  enough 
remaining  to  show  that  the  wave  of  success  already 
accompanying  these  two  witnesses  threatened  to  shake 
the  foundations  of  society,  and  overturn  the  old  estab- 
lished religions  of  Europe. 

Another  cry — "  These  all  do  contrary  to  the  decrees 
of  Caesar,  saying  that  there  is  another  king,  one  Jesus" 
— is  identical  with  that  which  was  employed  against 
Christ  himself.  These  degenerate  Jews  did  not  com- 
prehend their  own  Scriptures — did  not  understand  the 
kingdom  which  the  prophets  proclaimed.  The  Son  of 
David  reigns,  but  reigns  over  an  unseen  kingdom.  His 
own  word  is,  "The  kingdom  of  God  is  within  you." 
His  reign,  having  a  different  sphere  and  character, 
may  have  free  scope;  it  will  never  come  into  collision 
with  lawful  human  governments.  The  Lord's  own 
words,  "  My  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world,"  remain  a 
perennial  rebuke  to  all  persecuting  governments  on 
the  one  hand,  and  all  political  ecclesiastical  organiza- 
tions on  the  other. 

Magnetism  and  gravity  act  at  the  same  place  and 


310  The  CJmrch  in  the  House. 

the  same  time,  but  do  not  come  into  collision  with  each 
other.  Each  of  these  powers  pervades  all  the  earth's 
surface;  each  is  supreme  everywhere  for  its  own  ob- 
jects; the  one  docs  not  stand  in  the  other's  way. 
There  is  not  less  of  gravity  on  any  given  spot  because 
magnetism  has  free  scope  there.  If  one  of  these  were 
subordinated  to  the  other,  the  system  of  the  world 
would  be  destroyed.  This  might  help  us  to  conceive 
of  Christ's  spiritual  authority  reigning  with  absolute 
sway  over  spirits,  and  yet  not  interfering  with  any 
legitimate  function  of  civil  government. 

This  question  is  assuming  greater  breadth  and  prom- 
inence in  our  day.  It  is  rising  not  only  in  this  country, 
but  all  over  Europe.  It  is  abroad  in  Italy  and  Ger- 
many. That  which  was  the  turning-point  at  the  cru- 
cifixion of  Christ  comes  up  again  for  solution,  and  men 
must  work  its  solution  out.  They  overpowered  it  in 
Pilate's  judgment-hall.  But  they  made  a  mistake  when 
they  buried  that  small,  and  to  their  vision  scarcely  per- 
ceptible atom;  to  bury  it  was  not  to  get  rid  of  it  for 
ever,  for  it  is  a  living  seed,  and  so  it  rises  again. 

Churchmen  must  learn  to  obey  Christ  without  en- 
croaching on  the  divinely  appointed  supremacy  of 
civil  government  in  its  own  domain;  and  civil  rulers 
must  learn  to  leave  the  kingdom  of  Christ  in  the 
world  absolutely  free. 


LXXI. 

BEREAN  NOBILITY. 

"  And  the  brethren  immediately  sent  away  Paul  and  Silas  by  night 
unto  Berea:  who  coming  thither  went  into  the  synagogue  of  the  yews. 
These  were  fnore  noble  than  those  in  Thessalonica,  in  that  they  received 
the  word  with  all  readiness  of  mind,  and  searched  the  Scriptures  daily, 
whether  those  things  zvere  so." — Acts  XVII.  lo,  ii. 

Jason  and  his  companions  were  admitted  to  bail.  The 
tumult  for  the  time  subsided.  The  brethren  sent  Paul 
and  Silas  away  by  night  to  Berea;  for  they  were  free 


Bcrcaii   Nobility.  3 1 1 

to  act  on  their  Master's  rule,  "When  they  persecute 
you  in  one  city,  flee  ye  unto  another." 

That  night-journey  demands  a  passing  notice.  They 
started  at  night  in  order  to  escape  the  rage  of  the  per- 
secutors; but  they  could  not  reach  15erea  in  one  day's 
march,  for  the  distance  was  about  sixty  miles.  The 
road  led  at  first  westward,  through  a  great  plain,  and 
then  ascended  the  mountain.  Berea  lies  on  the  eastern 
slope  of  the  Olympian  range.  It  is  still  a  town  of  20,000 
inhabitants,  and  contains  some  remains  of  Greek  and 
Roman  buildings.  Behold  the  two  missionaries,  with 
their  guide,  toiling  along  by  night,  eager  to  reach 
another  station,  where  they  might  work  and  win  be- 
fore the  wave  of  persecution  should  overtake  them. 

It  is  instructive  to  compare  the  occupation  of  this 
night  with  that  of  the  last  night  of  which  the  history 
is  recorded — the  night  in  prison  at  Philippi.  Then  they 
sang  praise  and  prayer.  They  were  enclosed  within 
prison-walls,  and  fastened  to  the  ground.  What  could 
they  do.''  All  was  bound  except  their  lips,  and  with 
these  they  sang.  But  this  night,  when  they  had  escaped 
from  the  persecutors  in  Thessalonica,  they  did  not  sit 
down  and  sing.  There,  worship  was  work;  here,  work 
was  worship.  Generally  the  history  tells  what  was  done 
in  the  day-time;  but  in  these  cases  the  events  of  the 
night  are  mentioned  because  these  events  concerned 
the  King.  In  the  first  of  these  nights,  the  men,  finding 
work  impossible,  worshipped;  and  that  act  of  worship 
turned  out  a  successful  work,  for  numbers  were  thereby 
won  to  Christ,  and  a  footing  for  the  gospel  obtained  in 
a  heathen  city.  In  the  second  night,  when  they  could 
neither  sleep  nor  work,  the  missionaries  marched;  and 
the  march  became  the  means  of  life  from  the  dead  to 
many  in  Berea,  for  by  that  sudden  night-march  the 
preachers  got  the  start  of  their  enemies,  and  had  laid 
the  foundations  of  a  permanent  edifice,  before  the  Jews 
of  Thessalonica  could  discover  the  direction  of  their 
flight  and  take  measures  for  opposing  them. 

In  Berea,  they  immediately  addressed  themselves  to 
the  Jews  in  their  synagogue.  "  These  were  more  noble 
than  those  in  Thessalonica,  in  that  they  received  the 
word  with  all  readiness  of  mind,  and  searched  the  Scrip- 
tures daily  whether  those  things  were  so." 


312  Tlic   CJiurcJi  in  the  House. 

There  is  a  heraldry,  it  seems,  in  the  kingdom  of  God 
as  well  as  in  the  kingdoms  of  this  world.  Our  King's 
throne,  too,  is  encircled  by  a  high-born  nobility.  In 
the  Scriptures  you  will  find  the  record  of  their  deeds 
and  the  patent  of  their  rank.  The  disciples  of  Christ 
are  taught  neither  to  vilify  nor  extol  a  temporal  no- 
bility. Christianity  is  not  revolutionist.  It  is  so  deeply 
occupied  with  an  inner  revolution  for  eternity,  that  it 
cannot  bestow  any  attention  on  the  political  revolutions 
of  time.  As  it  will  not  spend  its  strength  in  setting  these 
thrones  up,  neither  will  it  turn  aside  to  pull  them  down. 
It  leaves  them  precisely  where  it  found  them,  and  passes 
on  in  pursuit  of  its  own  aim. 

If  we  could  obtain  a  view  of  this  earth  from  a  great 
height  in  the  heavens,  the  mountains  would  not  appear 
very  high,  the  valleys  would  not  appear  very  deep.  The 
inequalities  on  the  earth's  surface,  which  from  our  pres- 
ent view-point  seem  great,  would  disappear,  and  all 
would  be  reduced  to  a  level.  Precisely  the  same  law 
rules  in  the  spiritual  sphere.  When  any  one  attains 
spiritually  a  great  elevation,  the  differences  of  social 
condition,  which  bulk  lau^ely  in  other  men's  eyes,  al- 
most altogether  disappear.  To  one  who  looks  on  the 
community  as  from  the  throne  of  God,  the  artificial 
distinctions  which  prevail  in  society  seem  to  be  blotted 
out:  in  his  view,  all  are  low  until  grace  raise  them  up. 

But  distinctions  there  are,  notwithstanding — dis- 
tinctions between  one  man  and  another — real,  deep, 
permanent.  Some  are  slaves  when  seen  from  the 
higher  view-point,  and  some  are  free;  some  are  dead 
in  sins,  and  some  have  been  raised  to  newness  of  life; 
some  are  rich  in  grace,  while  others  are  wretched  and 
poor  and  miserable  and  blind  and  naked;  some  are 
high-born,  and  some  low. 

These  were  more  noble — high-born.  Two  things 
go  to  constitute  nobility  in  its  temporal  form:  first,  the 
sovereign's  choice  in  its  origin;  and  second,  the  actual 
birthright  of  each  individual  noble  in  successive  gener- 
ations. The  spring  of  all  lies  in  the  good  pleasure  of 
the  king.  The  same  feature  is  found  in  the  nobility  of 
the  heavenly  kingdom.  Abraham  was  one  of  the  mul- 
titude "beyond  the  flood" — on  the  east  of  the  Euphra- 
tes.    He  was  of  plebeian  blood  and  training.     His  tribe 


Bercan   Nobility.  313 

served  idols  in  the  rich  plain  of  the  Tigris,  and  lived 
without  God  in  the  world.  He  was  sovereignly  chosen 
and  called.  He  received  the  patent  of  his  nobility  in 
the  specific  promise  of  the  King  eternal;  and  large  pos- 
sessions were  bestowed  upon  him  for  the  support  of 
his  dignity.  To  him,  many  generations  afterwards, 
kings  and  nobles  proudly  traced  their  pedigree. 

At  a  later  period  of  the  empire,  when  the  King's 
Son  was  sojourning  in  this  province,  he  called  others 
— certain  common  plebeian  men — and  conferred  on 
them  the  patent  of  nobility.  Some  fishermen  were  at 
that  time  raised  from  the  ranks.  In  Rome  they  call 
Peter  a  prince:  the  title  is  not  amiss,  although  they 
apply  it  falsely.  About  the  same  time  some  tax-col- 
lectors were  admitted  into  the  princely  rank;  and  after 
the  King's  Son  had  returned  to  the  seat  of  government, 
a  noted  rebel  was  first  taken  captive,  and  thereafter 
made  a  noble  at  his  conqueror's  court — an  ambassador 
to  the  nations  in  the  service  of  his  reconciled  King. 

Further,  each  noble  of  this  kingdom  is  himself  born 
to  his  title  and  estate.  Nicodemus,  though  a  son  of 
Abraham  by  his  first  birth,  must  himself  be  born  again 
ere  he  could  enjoy  the  privileges  of  a  peer. 

But  there  is  one  broad  distinction,  which  should  be 
carefully  observed,  between  the  kingdoms  of  this  world 
and  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  in  regard  to  the  manner  in 
wdiich  peers  are  made — in  regard  to  what  constitutes 
nobility.  In  the  kingdoms  of  this  w^orld  there  are  two 
distinct  methods;  and  of  the  whole  body  of  the  peer- 
age, some  are  admitted  in  one  way,  some  in  the  other 
— none  in  both.  Some  are  called  from  other  classes 
by  the  free  election  of  the  sovereign,  and  some  are 
born  into  their  dignities.  In  the  kingdom  of  Christ, 
every  noble  unites  in  himself  both  these  rights.  He  is 
chosen  from  without  into  the  circle  of  the  princes;  and 
he  is  also  born  into  the  family.  It  requires  both  the 
earthly  things  to  represent  the  heavenly.  One  repre- 
sents the  election  by  the  sovereignty  of  God,  and  the 
other  represents  the  actual  change  which  in  the  regen- 
eration passes  upon  the  heart  and  life  of  the  man. 

These  two  represent  salvation  respectively  on  its 
upper  and  its  under  side,  as  the  Parable  of  the  Good 
Shepherd  and  the  Parable  of  the  Prodigal  represent  it. 


314  ^/^^   Cluirch   in  the  House. 

The  upper  side  of  the  seal  contains  the  legend,  "  The 
Lord  knoweth  them  that  are  his;  "  and  the  under  side, 
"  Let  every  one  that  nameth  the  name  of  Christ  depart 
from  iniquity." 

Two  characteristic  features  of  the  Berean  nobility 
are  recorded,  in  order  that  we  in  the  end  of  the  world 
may  be  able  to  distinguish  between  the  genuine  and 
the  spurious;  "They  received  the  word  with  all  readi- 
ness of  mind,  and  searched  the  Scriptures  daily  whether 
these  things  were  so."  These  qualities  are  distinct  from 
each  other,  and  yet  are  so  bound  together  as  to  consti- 
tute a  pair.  The  one  is  a  tender,  childlike  receptiveness 
for  revealed  truth;  the  other  is  a  manly  independence 
of  judgment.  Their  hearts  drank  in  readily  the  water 
of  life;  but  their  understandings  sifted  the  doctrines 
that  were  preached,  and  tried  them  by  the  law  and  the 
testimony. 

I.  Their  hearts  were  receptive.  In  this  matter  the 
Jews  of  Berea  were  favorably  distinguished  from  those 
of  Thessalonica.  Those  who,  like  Saul  before  his  con- 
version, had  a  knowledge  of  the  law,  and  a  full  stock 
of  variegated  merits,  did  not  so  readily  open  to  receive 
the  gospel.  They  were  like  a  field  that  is  soaked  and 
soured  with  stagnant  water:  when  a  shower  falls  on 
such  a  field  it  trickles  off  again.  It  is  the  dry  land 
that  drinks  in  the  rain. 

The  distinction  is  similar  to  that  which  the  parable 
makes  between  the  good  ground  and  the  hard  beaten 
wayside.  The  seed  that  fell  on  both  places  was  the 
same.  It  was  the  quality  of  softness  in  one  that  ren- 
dered it  receptive,  and  the  quality  of  hardness  in  the 
other  which  caused  it  to  reject  the  seed.  Here  lay  the 
cause  of  the  difference  disclosed  in  harvest.  As  more 
depends  on  the  condition  of  the  soil  than  on  the  skill 
of  the  sower,  so  more  depends  on  a  receptive  spirit  in 
the  hearers  than  on  the  peculiar  ability  of  the  preacher. 
There  is  a  remarkable  analogy,  too,  between  the  im- 
mediate cause  of  receptiveness  in  the  cultivated  ground 
on  the  one  hand,  and  the  immediate  cause  of  the  re- 
ceptiveness of  a  human  heart  on  the  other.  A  broken, 
a  contrite  heart  is  the  ordinary  expression  for  a  hum- 
ble disposition  of  soul,  crushed  by  a  sense  of  sin,  and 
thirsting  for  the  living  water.     It  is  where  the  ground 


Bcrcan   Nobility.  3 1 5 

is  broken  small  that  the  seed  finds  its  way  into  the 
soil  and  the  grain  is  gathered  in  harvest;  in  like  man- 
ner it  is  in  those  who  have  been  bruised  by  conviction 
of  sin,  and  as  it  were  melted  by  the  mercy  of  God,  that 
the  offer  of  the  gospel  goes  home,  and  the  fruits  of 
righteousness  ripen  apace. 

2.  The  second  characteristic  of  Berean  nobility  is  the 
exercise  of  private  judgment.  They  searched  the  Scrip- 
tures daily,  whether  these  things  were  so.  This  short, 
simple  intimation  puts  to  shame  the  sophistry  with 
which  Rome  has  for  ages  striven  to  conceal  the  Word 
of  God  from  the  people.  Charity  is  popular  in  our  day, 
and  "great  is  the  company  of  them"  that  preach  it; 
but  we  must  see  well  to  it  lest  we  make  a  fatal  mis- 
take as  to  what  is  charity.  Charity  is  not  an  equal 
regard  for  truth  and  falsehood, — for  light  and  darkness. 
Charity  is  love ;  but  how  can  you  really  love  your  brother 
if  you  do  not  loathe  and  denounce  that  which  destroys 
him  .•'  You  cannot  love  your  brother,  and  fondle  the 
serpent  which  is  stinging  him  to  the  second  death. 
The  political  sentiment  which  in  the  name  of  charity 
supports  the  Papacy  is  a  delusion.  It  is  a  dream  from 
which  political  men  will  be  awakened  by  some  rude 
shock.  It  is  a  spurious  liberalism  that  under  any  pre- 
text pets  and  feeds  the  greatest  enslaver  of  mankind. 
It  is  noble,  says  the  Spirit  of  God,  for  private  men  to 
search  the  Scriptures  daily  in  order  to  determine  thereby 
the  truth  or  falsehood  of  any  doctrine  that  may  be  pro- 
posed for  their  acceptance:  for  this  noble  act  the  Romish 
hierarchy  has  everywhere  persecuted  even  unto  death. 

The  term  rendered  "searched"  in  the  text  indicates 
that  they  pored  over  the  page;  and  after  having  read 
a  sentence,  returned  to  traverse  the  lines  again,  in  or- 
der that  the  track  of  the  sense  might  be  more  deeply 
graven  on  their  minds.  They  avoided  the  two  extremes 
of  easy  credulity  and  hard  unbelief.  Some  stand  rigid 
against  the  truth  and  yield  not  at  all;  others  bend  eas- 
ily before  every  doctrine  that  is  plausibly  presented, 
but  bend  as  the  willow  bends  to  the  breeze,  taking 
every  position  but  keeping  none. 

It  is  a  general  law  of  human  nature  that  what  comes 
lightly,  goes  lightly.  What  we  gain  by  a  hard  struggle, 
we  retain  with  a  firmer  grasp,  whether  it  be  our  fortune 


3i6  The   Church   in   the  House. 

or  our  faith.  Those  men  who  have  obtained  great 
wealth  without  any  trouble  or  toil  of  their  own,  often 
scatter  it,  and  die  in  poverty.  It  is  seldom  that  the 
man  -^vho  gains  a  fortune  by  gigantic  labor  wastes 
the  wealth  he  has  won.  In  like  manner,  give  me  the 
Christian  who  has  fought  his  way  to  his  Christianity. 
If  it  is  through  fire  and  water  that  he  has  reached 
the  wealthy  place,  he  will  not  lightly  leave  his  rich 
inheritance. 


LXXII. 

SOME  AX  HUXDRED-FOLD. 

•'  Therefore  many  of  them  believed;  also  of  honorable  women  which  were 
Greeks,  and  of  men,  not  a  few." — Acts  XVII.  12. 

They  believed.  The  word  is  little;  the  thing  is  great 
— is  life  from  the  dead.  By  this  one  step  they  passed 
from  a  state  of  condemnation  to  a  state  of  peace  with 
God.  They  escaped  from  a  house  built  on  the  sand 
before  it  fell,  and  took  refuge  in  the  house  that  was 
built  upon  the  rock.  The  moment  before  they  were 
without  Christ,  and  therefore  witliout  hope  in  the  world: 
the  moment  after  they  were  in  Christ,  and  heirs  of  eter- 
nal life.  The  step  they  took  that  day  separated  them 
conclusively  from  all  the  wicked,  and  allied  them  for 
ever  with  the  true  and  pure.  Their  life  is  hid  now  with 
Christ  in  God:  none  shall  ever  be  able  to  pluck  them 
from  their  Redeemers  hand. 

If  any  should  ask.  How  could  interests  so  vast  turn 
on  a  point  so  small  .••  How  could  the  act  of  a  moment, 
— the  secret  quiver  of  the  soul's  affection  in  transferring 
itself  to  the  Saviour, — how  could  this  mental  act  be- 
come the  turning-point  between  woe  and  weal  for  eter- 
nity .''  All  decisive  turnings  are  made  on  points.  It 
is  on  sharp  points  that  great  magnitudes  can  best  be 
turned.  He  was  born:  he  died.  These  are  small  points; 
and  how  vast  the  issues  that  move  on  them  !  People 
speak  vaguely  about  the  poles  of  the  globe:  these  poles 


Soific   an   HiDtdrcd-fold.  317 

are  mathematical  points;  yet  how  huge  is  the  mass 
that  spins  round  upon  them  from  age  to  age  ! 

Many  beHcvcd.  A  sweUing  of  spiritual  life  some- 
times comes  over  a  city  or  a  country,  as  the  tidal  wave 
comes  over  the  ocean, — lifted  and  led,  in  both  cases, 
b\'  a  distant  power  in  the  heavens.  Therefore  many 
believed:  the  effects  are  distinctly  traced  to  their  imme- 
diate cause.  The  minds  of  the  listeners  inclined  and 
opened  to  the  word  of  life,  and  what  they  received 
lovingly  they  examined  diligently.  The  symptoms  that 
preceded  and  portended  the  revival  were,  A  bent  of 
mind  toward  the  preached  word,  and  a  daily  reverent 
searching  of  the  Scriptures.  When  we  see  the  same 
symptoms  in  any  place,  we  may  confidently  expect  a 
similar  enlargement. 

Interesting  and  instructive  is  the  specific  enumera- 
tion of  classes  that  were  on  that  occasion  won  to  the 
Lord,  "  both  of  Greek  women  of  good  station  and  of 
men  not  a  few."  Four  distinct  characteristics  of  the 
persons  who  were  converted  at  that  time  in  Berea  have 
been  counted  worthy  of  a  place  in  the  record,  and 
should  therefore  be  counted  worthy  of  our  special  study. 

I.  Greeks  were  converted.  There  is  no  respect  of 
persons  with  God;  all  are  in  his  sight  equally  lost  in 
sin,  and  all  are  alike  precious  when  redeemed.  E.x- 
pressly  in  Christ's  kingdom  there  is  neither  Jew  nor 
Greek.  Yet  circumstances  may  be  such  that  the  con- 
version of  a  Greek  gives  more  joy  to  an  apostle's  heart, 
and  does  more  for  the  spread  of  the  kingdom,  than  the 
conversion  of  a  Jew.  As  a  rule,  the  first  converts  in 
every  city  had  hitherto  been  of  the  seed  of  Israel.  But 
Paul  and  his  companions,  although  they  began  their 
work  in  the  synagogue,  were  aware  that  their  mission 
was  to  the  world;  they  rejoiced  accordingly  with  a  pe- 
culiar delight  over  the  first-fruits  of  the  Gentiles.  These 
Greeks  who  believed  in  Berea  were  iw  themselves  pre- 
cisely as  precious  as  the  same  number  of  Jews,  and  no 
more;  but  over  and  above  the  worth  of  individual  souls, 
their  conversion  opened  a  door  by  which  the  gospel 
might  enter  a  new  and  spacious  field.  This,  to  the 
weary  laborers,  was  like  the  breaking  forth  of  waters. 
The  barrier  at  one  spot  had  given  way,  and  a  gap  was 
formed  in  the  dyke  by  which  the  tide  might  enter  and 


3i8  TJic   CJnircJi   in   the  House. 

inundate  the  land.  To  the  apostles  those  successe5 
were  sweetest  which  seemed  earnests  and  promises  of 
more. 

2.  Both  men  and  women.  God  made  them  in  mar- 
vellous wisdom  for  each  other;  together  they  have  gone 
away  from  him;  it  is  a  gladsome  sight  when  they  re- 
turn in  company. 

It  is  sad  when  the  sexes  are  separated  by  that 
partition  which  divides  the  kingdom  of  God  from  the 
world  lying  in  wickedness — separated  so  that  while  the 
one  stands  safe  within  the  narrow  gate,  the  other  is 
still  groping  blindfold  against  the  blank  wall  on  its 
outer  side.  The  separation  takes  place  on  both  sides. 
There  is  not  favor  to  one  and  frown  to  another.  As 
there  is  neither  Jew  nor  Greek,  so  there  is  neither  male 
nor  female,  for  partiality  to  either,  in  the  kingdom  of 
Christ.  Sometimes  the  husband  or  brother  truly  seeks 
and  finds  the  kingdom  of  God  and  his  righteousness, 
while  the  wife  or  sister  seems  content  to  abide  by  the 
stuff  of  this  world  as  the  soul's  portion.  The  cares  of 
this  life  frequently  become  the  specific  means  whereby 
the  spiritual  life  is  overlaid  and  smothered  in  the  mothers 
and  daughters  of  a  house.  On  the  other  hand,  some- 
times the  women  of  a  family  are  devoted  to  Christ,  while 
the  men  are  too  philosophic  or  too  self-indulgent  to  be 
troubled  with  spiritual  anxieties. 

Husbands  and  wives,  brothers  and  sisters,  sons  and 
mothers,  come  all,  and  come  in  company  to  Christ. 
Be  heirs  together  of  the  grace  of  life — helps-meet  in 
the  rugged  path — brothers  and  sisters  in  the  whole 
family  of  God — entrants  together  into  the  joy  of  the 
Lord. 

3.  People  of  high  standing,  respectable  people,  were 
converted.  And  is  there  any  peculiar  ground  for  glad- 
ness there  }  Are  the  upper  ten  thousand  more  pre- 
cious in  God's  sight  than  the  myriads  who  occupy  a 
lower  place  .''  No;  this  word  comes  from  heaven,  and 
does  not  shape  itself  by  the  fashion  of  the  world.  But 
though  poor  and  rich  are  equally  precious,  there  are 
times  and  circumstances  in  which  conversion  in  high 
places  is  more  noted  and  more  noteworthy  than  con- 
version in  a  low  place.  If  for  nothing  else,  the  early 
disciples  valued  it  as  men  value  certain  gems,  on  ac- 


So/ut'  ail   Hitndrid-fold.  319 

count  of  its  rarity.  The  common  people  heard  the 
Master  £^ladl}%  but  the  rulers  held  aloof  and  boasted 
that  the)'  were  not  tinged  with  any  trust  in  Jesus  of 
Nazareth.  On  that  very  account  there  was  great  joy 
in  the  circle  of  the  disciples  when  a  magnate  joined 
their  band.  Even  the  Lord  longed  to  have  some  of 
them,  and  looked  fondly  on  the  young  rich  man  who 
came  running  and  kneeling  and  calling  him  Master. 

Another  reason  why  people  of  high  station  are 
warmly  welcomed  into  the  company  of  Christians  is, 
that  their  influence  is  greater;  and  so,  when  their  tal- 
ents are  consecrated  to  the  Lord,  a  larger  gain  accrues 
to  the  kingdom.  If  you  looked  from  aloft  upon  a  dry 
and  parched  land,  you  would  be  glad  to  see  a  well  ris- 
ing even  on  its  lo\Vest  place;  but  you  would  be  gladder 
if  \'0u  saw  a  spring  leaping  from  the  ground  on  its  lofti- 
est ridges,  for,  from  its  position,  it  could  be  employed 
to  irrigate  a  larger  portion  of  the  land. 

Great  temptations  beset  the  wealthy  and  noble;  the 
cords  that  bind  them  to  the  world  are  very  strong;  a 
louder  song  of  praise,  therefore,  bursts  from  the  lips  of 
the  free  when  one  of  these  is  liberated.  It  is  more 
glory  to  the  Lord,  and  greater  gain  to  his  cause  in  the 
world. 

4.  Many  were  converted.  The  emphatic  phrase  is, 
"  Not  a  few."  There  is  a  strange  appetite  for  more  in 
a  Christian's  heart.  It  continually  cries  "  Give,  give." 
That  cry  is  never  silenced,  that  appetite  never  satiated, 
till  the  whole  world  is  won.  This  feature  of  a  Chris- 
tian's new  nature  is  inherited  from  Christ.  He  opened 
his  mouth  wide  for  the  food  which  he  loved.  When 
many  came  and  followed  him,  he  continued  to  invite 
the  rest  as  eagerly.  When  his  ministry  was  nearly  fin- 
ished he  wept  in  agony  over  Jerusalem,  because  few  of 
its  teeming  multitude  would  accept  pardon  and  eternal 
life  at  his  hand. 

There  is  a  species  of  liberality  in  vogue  at  present 
which  denounces  indiscriminately  all  proselytism.  It 
is  quite  true,  we  confess,  that  much  impure  zeal  ha.s 
been  exhibited  in  the  name  of  Christ.  Woe  to  those, 
whatever  name  they  assume,  who  compass  sea  and 
land  to  make  a  proselyte,  and,  when  they  have  got  him, 
steep  him  deeper  in  the  same  uncharitable  fanaticism 


320  TJie   CJmrch  in  the  House. 

that  gives  energy  to  their  own  efforts.  There  is  ar, 
evil  proselytism,  even  as  there  is  a  spirit  of  darkness 
who  assumes  the  robes  of  an  angel  of  light.  Every 
case  must  be  judged  on  its  own  merits:  it  is  irrational 
to  denounce  all  proselytizing  indiscriminately.  There 
will,  and  should,  and  must  be  a  prosel}'tizing  spirit  in 
every  true  Christian.  What  do  men  mean  by  condemn- 
ing it  in  the  lump  }  Jesus  Christ  was  a  proselytizer, 
and  all  are  like  him  whom  he  has  inoculated  with  his 
love. 


LXXIII. 

PAULS  ARRIVAL  AT  ATHEA'S. 

"And  then  immediatt-ly  the  brethren  sent  away  Paul  to  s;o  as  it  "<i<cre 
to  the  sea:  but  Silas  and  Timotheus  abode  there  still.  And  they  that 
(onducted  Paul  brought  him  unto  Athetis:  and  7'eceiving  a  commandment 
unto  Silas  and  Timotheus  for  to  come  to  hivi  with  all  speed,  they  de- 
parted. Notv  zvhile  Paul  waited  for  them  at  Alliens,  his  spirit  was 
stirred  in  him,  zvheii  he  saw  the  city  wholly  given  to  idolatry." — Acrs 
XVII.  14-16. 

Berea  seems  a  very  paradise  for  these  missionary 
men.  There  was  eager  attention  to  the  gospel;  there 
were  many  conversions,  and  as  yet  there  was  no  sign 
of  any  persecution  springing  up.  But  the  persecution 
that  did  not  spring  on  the  spot  was  imported  from  a 
distance.  "When  the  Jews  of  Thessalonica  had  knowl- 
edge that  the  word  of  God  was  preached  of  Paul  at  Berea, 
they  came  thither  also  and  stirred  up  the  people."  The 
place  was  soon  made  too  hot  for  Paul.  As  being  mani- 
festly the  chief,  he  was  more  obnoxious  than  his  two 
younger  associates;  for  when  it  was  found  necessary 
to  hurry  him  off  from  the  place  to  preserve  his  life, 
Timothy  and  Silas  ventured  to  remain  behind  to  carry 
on  the  work  which  had  been  so  hopefully  begun. 

The  brethren  sent  away  Paul,  to  go  as  it  were,  to 
the  sea.  It  has  been  generally  thought  that  stratagem 
was  employed  here;  that  they  started  in  the  direction 
of  the   sea-coast,  to  lead   the   persecutors   on   a   false 


Paul's    Arrival  at   Athens.  32 1 

scent,  and  afterwards  took  the  road  to  Athens.  But 
it  is  more  probable  that  the  transaction  was  simpler. 
As  there  is  no  mention  of  any  place  on  the  way  be- 
tween Berea  and  Athens,  there  is  some  ground  to 
infer  that  the  journey  was  not  made  by  land;  that 
they  embarked  at  Dium,  near  the  base  of  Olympus, 
anil  landed  at  the  Piraeus.  In  the  circumstances  it  is 
probable  that  the  route  and  the  destination  were  not 
determined  until  they  were  far  on  the  way.  When 
they  left  Berea  there  was  no  time  to  consider  their 
course.  The  thing  that  pressed  was  to  get  Paul  away 
from  a  place  of  danger;  out  of  Berea  with  all  haste 
for  the  missionary's  life,  and  when  we  are  a  safe  dis- 
tance we  shall  consider  where  we  shall  go  next. 

Paul  seems  on  this  occasion  to  have  been  passive 
in  the  hands  of  his  friends.  They  who  lived  in  the 
country  knew  best  both  the  danger  that  threatened 
and  the  means  of  escape.  They  will  manage  the 
whole  business.  The  journey  to  Athens  was  no  plan 
of  his.  "  They  that  conducted  him  brought  him  to 
Athens."'  Arrived  at  this  celebrated  city,  Paul  seems 
to  have  taken  the  measure  of  it  at  the  first  glance. 
Before  his  conductors  had  left  him  to  return  to  their 
home,  he  had  made  up  his  mind  and  determined  the 
plan  of  the  campaign.  In  view  of  Athens,  Berea  di- 
minished in  importance  as  a  mission-field.  He  had 
left  Timothy  and  Silas  there;'  but  as  soon  as  he  saw 
Athens,  he  sent  a  message  back  with  the  returning 
escort,  requesting  his  associates  to  join  him  without 
delay. 

Those  two  laborers  were  digging  a  well  on  the 
spot  where  he  left  them — digging  a  well,  and  getting 
water — the  water  of  life,  to  refresh  a  parched  neigh- 
borhood; but  he  hesitates  not  to  call  them  away  from 
their  work;  for  the  well  that  they  were  digging  was 
in  the  lowly  plain,  and  though  they  obtained  sweet 
water  there,  that  water  could  not  flow  far  for  the 
benefit  of  others.  Here,  however,  and  now,  Paul  had 
discovered  a  spot  on  an  exceeding  high  mountain, 
where  a  well  might  be  hopefully  pierced,  and  if  they 
should  obtain  water  there,  it  would,  in  virtue  of  the 
height  of  its  site,  flow  far  and  wide  over  the  nations. 
Accordingly  this  master-workman   recalls    his  hands 


322  Tlie   Church   in  the  House. 

from  the  successful  but  less  important  mission  in  Be- 
rea,  that  they  might  strike  home  for  the  Lord  in  the 
very  heart  and  head  of  the  civilized  world. 

The  plan  was  that  Paul  should  wait  at  Athens  till 
his  associates  arrived,  and  that  then  they  should  begin 
the  work  in  company.  It  is  not  easy  for  a  solitary 
missionary  to  begin  alone  in  the  high  places  of  the 
earth  to  bear  a  testimony  for  God.  Poor  Jonah  was 
so  overwhelmed  by  the  prospect  of  standing  unsup- 
ported in  Nineveh  to  denounce  God's  judgments  against 
the  people's  sin,  that  he  rebelled  and  ran  away  that  he 
might  escape  the  hard  and  scathing  ordeal.  As  Jonahi 
at  Nineveh,  crying  out,  Yet  forty  days,  and  Nineveh 
shall  be  destroyed — as  Jonah  at  Nineveh  was  Paul  at 
Athens,  proclaiming  Jesus  and  the  resurrection.  It  is 
too  much  for  one  man  alone  to  dare  and  do.  He  will 
wait  in  silence  the  arrival  of  his  friends,  and  then, 
shoulder  to  shoulder,  three  stronger  than  one,  they 
will  stand,  and  stand  up  for  the  Lord,  and  stand  fast 
against  the  adversary.  Bid  them  come  both  and  come 
quickly,  said  the  eager,  impetuous  apostle  to  his  escort, 
as  they  turned  to  retrace  their  steps  toward  Berea; 
"and  receiving  a  commandment  unto  Silas  and  Timo- 
theus,  for  to  come  to  him  with  all  speed,  they  departed." 

Away  went  the  escort  out  of  his  sight,  and  Paul  be- 
gan his  part  of  the  programme — that  is,  to  wait.  He 
will  wait  at  Athens  till  Timothy  and  Silas  should  arrive. 
But  ah  !  this  is  not  a  man  of  the  waiting  kind.  He  had 
undertaken  more  than  he  could  perform.  The  spirit 
of  the  prophet  was  not  subject  to  the  prophet.  Paul 
was  not  a  good  waiter,  and  Athens  was  not  the  place 
for  Paul  to  wait  idle  in.  It  was  hard  to  begin  alone  his 
testimony  for  Jesus  in  that  Greek  capital,  and  therefore 
he  laid  the  plan  of  obtaining  associates;  but  it  was 
harder  to  look  on  in  silence  where  Satan  had  his  seat, 
and  therefore  he  broke  through  the  plan  that  he  had 
laid.  He  burst  through  all  bonds  and  began.  "Now 
while  Paul  waited  for  them  at  Athens,  his  spirit  was 
stirred  in  him,  when  he  saw  the  city  wholly  given  to 
idolatry.     Therefore  disputed  he,"  etc. 

He  saw  the  city  given  over  to  idolatry  and  felt  a 
stirring,  a  thrilling  through  his  soul,  like  the  vibrations 
of  a  harp  when  the  wind  breathes  on  its  strings.     Not 


P(i Ill's    Arrival   at    Athens.  323 

only  were  these  two  connected  in  point  of  time;  they 
were  connected  as  cause  and  eftect.  The  sight  which 
he  saw  without,  caused  the  emotion  that  he  experienced 
within.  The  idolatry  of  the  city  kindled  this  mission- 
ar\'"s  soul  into  a  paroxysm  of  holy  zeal  which  could 
not  be  restrained. 

Two  things  are  observable  and  memorable  in  con- 
nection with  what  Paul  saw  in  Athens — two  things  very 
needful  and  very  profitable  to  supply  us  with  fixed 
foundation  principles  of  action  in  these  latter  days. 

First,  this  great  and  true  man — this  real  philosopher, 
who  both  feared  God  and  regarded  man,  was  arrested  and 
transfixed  by  the  idols  of  Athens,  so  that  he  noticed  not 
or  regarded  little  the  many  other  sights  which  the  city 
contained.  This  intellectual  capital  of  Greece  present- 
ed in  those  days  many  attractions  to  men  of  cultivated 
taste;  and  Paul's  taste  was  cultivated.  It  was  not  that 
he  valued  marble  statues  less,  but  living  men  more. 
He  was  not  blind  to  the  beauties  of  Greek  architecture, 
or  deaf  to  the  music  of  the  Greek  tongue;  but  he  felt 
the  expulsive  power  of  a  deeper  affection,  that  occupied 
his  heart,  and  drove  its  rivals  from  the  field.  Ah  !  he 
is  not  the  weak  but  the  strong  man  who  regards  immor- 
tal souls  as  transcendently  more  important  than  fine 
arts.  This  man  is  not  carried  away  by  vanities,  but 
governed  by  sound  reason.  Accordingly,  he  scarcely 
observes  the  curiosities  that  strangers  went  to  see  in 
Athens;  he  was  taken  up  with  that  which  obtruded  itself 
on  the  traveller's  eye  at  the  corner  of  every  street- 
idols,  idols  everywhere;  and  living  men  boasting  them- 
selves to  be  God's  offspring,  bowing  down  before  images 
of  wood  and  stone,  graven  by  art  and  man's  device. 

Another  thing  observable  in  the  missionary's  view  is, 
that  he  considered  the  idolatry  of  the  Athenians  to  be 
a  grave  and  grievous  thing.  This  is  not  one  of  those 
frivolous  travellers  who  think  idolatrous  rites  very  pict- 
uresque, and  very  becoming,  and  very  harmless.  We 
have  fallen  upon  an  age  when  shallow  men,  in  order 
to  prove  themselves  deep,  count  it  needful  to  laud  the 
interesting  and  innocent  religious  ceremonies  of  the 
heathen  on  their  native  soil,  and  to  deprecate  Christian 
missionaries  as  intruders,  who  make  the  people  worse. 
A  sort  of  crusade  is  at  the  present  time  waged  against 


324  The   CJnircli  in   the  House. 

Christian  missions  by  a  section  of  the  students  of  phil- 
osophy and  nature.  It  cannot  deal  heavy  blows,  or 
continue  long  to  deal  any  blows  at  all;  for  it  is  false 
in  its  facts,  and  unphilosophically  presumptuous  in  its 
pretensions. 

But,  meantime,  observe  how  this  great  and  strong 
man  regarded  the  matter.  Idolatry  was  in  his  sight 
the  height  of  all  abomination.  It  was  dishonor  done 
to  the  liv-ing  God,  and  degradation  to  intelligent 
human  souls.  It  was,  m.oreover,  the  fruitful  parent  of 
all  vice.  The  law  of  God  is  a  living  and  eternal  thing. 
The  law,  like  Christ,  is  not  divided  so  that  a  man  can 
take  a  part,  and  neglect  the  rest.  The  second  table 
hangs  dependent  on  the  first.  When  the  soul  is  de- 
bauched by  the  worship  of  a  false  god,  the  body  is 
abandoned  to   every  species   of  corruption    (Rom.  i.). 


LXXIV. 

A    CITY  GIVEN   TO  IDOLATRY. 

'■'■  Noiu  li'hile  Paul  waited  for  them  at  Athens^  his  spirit  7vas  stirreJ  in 
him,  ivhen  he  savj  the  city  wholfy  given  to  idolatry.'" — Acts  XVIi.  16. 

The  city  was  wholly  given  to  idolatry — full  of  idols. 
There  is  historical  confirmation  of  the  description  from 
many  sources.  In  the  public  opinion  of  those  days 
Athens  was  considered  to  be  supereminently  a  city  of 
idols.  Art  had  attained  a  higher  state  of  perfection 
there  than  elsewhere.  Their  architecture  and  sculpt- 
ure were  not  equalled  in  that  day — have  perhaps  not 
been  equalled  in  our  day.  This  pre-eminence  in  art 
in  connection  with  the  exquisite  taste  which  was  a 
general  characteristic  of  the  people,  greatly  increased 
the  public  zeal  in  the  worship  of  idols.  When  fine  art, 
of  the  highest  order  of  excellence,  is  consecrated  to  a 
false  and  sensual  worship,  it  exerts  a  great  power  for 
evil.  Modern  Rome  is  in  this  respect  like  ancient 
Athens.     The  idolatry  of  the  Papacy  is  fostered  by  the 


A    City  given  to  Idolatry.  325 

fine  arts,  especially  music  and  painting.  Art  lias  been 
the  sword-arm  of  Rome  for  modern  conquests.  And  it 
is  among  the  classes  whose  education  lies  more  in  ;es- 
thetics  thtm  in  thought  that  her  converts  have  most 
frequentl)",  been  made  in  our  own  times.  For,  as 
in  ancient  Athens,  the  imagination  is  captivated  by 
voluptuous  art;  and  when  the  spirit  is  thus  enslaved, 
it  may  be  led  over  into  the  coarsest  idolatry  !  This 
intoxication  of  the  soul  is  not  unlike  the  intoxication  of 
the  body,  whether  you  look  to  its  soft,  gradual  ap- 
proaches— or  to  the  giddy,  swimming  pleasure  to 
which  the  captive  abandons  himself — or  to  the  abject 
degradation  to  wiiich  the  intoxicated  submits  when  he 
is  given  over  to  the  mysterious  witchcraft. 

What  emotion  did  the  sight  of  Athenian  idolatry 
excite  in  the  missionary's  breast!  His  spirit  was  stirred 
in  him.  A  fire  was  kindled  that  would  have  consumed 
the  man  if  it  had  been  pent  up.  Allowed  to  get  vent, 
it  blazed  forth,  and  precipitated  him  with  all  his  force 
alone  against  the  world. 

It  is  worthy  of  notice  here,  however,  that  it  is  not 
every  human  spirit  that  is  kindled  into  a  godly  zeal  by 
the  sight  of  a  neighbor's  sins  or  sorrows.  This  same 
Saul  was  not  always  so  tenderly  susceptible.  His  heart 
had  once  lain  still  without  a  flutter  within  his  iron  bosom, 
when  the  blood  of  the  mart}'r  Stephen  was  shed,  and 
the  clothes  of  the  murderers  lay  at  his  feet.  The  mar- 
tyr's eyes  wxre  raised  to  heaven  in  his  sight,  and  a  light 
from  God's  countenance  made  his  face  to  shine  like  an 
angel's  before  the  time;  the  martyr's  last  prayer  was 
uttered,  and  its  gentle  accents  fell  on  the  persecutor's 
ear — "  Lord,  lay  not  this  sin  to  their  charge;"  but  Saul 
of  Tarsus  felt  no  pity  thrilling  in  his  cold  heart — no 
shudder  of  remorse  trembling  in  his  callous  soul.  Hard 
and  dull  and  blunt  as  the  nether  millstone  his  spirit  re- 
niained  under  the  most  melting  sights  and  sounds  that 
can  fall  on  human  sense. 

A  great  change  had  passed  on  Paul  between  the 
time  when  he  saw  unmoved  Christ's  first  witness  die, 
and  the  time  when  the  sight  of  Athenian  idolatry  lighted 
a  Hame  of  godly  jealousy  in  his  breast,  and  threw  him 
headlong  on  the  god  of  this  world,  at  the  spot  where 
he  was  covered  with  all  his  panoply.     Now  Paul  was 


326  TJie   CJnircli   in   the  House. 

himself  redeemed,  and  it  grieved  him  to  see  a  brother 
lying  under  condemnation.  Now  he  was  himself  de- 
livered from  the  power  of  Satan,  and  he  could  not  bear 
to  see  silly  birds  going  blindfold  into  the  fowler's  snare. 
This  is  the  rule:  it  is  when  we  have  ourselves  been 
brought  out  of  darkness  that  rivers  of  water  will  run 
down  our  eyes  because  men  keep  not  God's  law.  It 
is  at  Christ's  love  to  us  that  our  hearts  take  fire  for 
other  men. 

Although  the  state  of  society  is  greatly  advanced 
in  our  land  and  day,  yet  sights  may  be  seen  amongst  us 
that  should  fire  the  heart  of  the  observer  as  much  as  the 
idolatry  of  Athens  fired  the  heart  of  Paul.  A  light  and 
frivolous  spirit  is  abroad — altogether  Athenian — which 
seems  to  be  rendering  the  generation  incapable  of  ear- 
nest moral  purpose,  or  self-sacrifice  for  noble  ends. 
There  is  an  impatience  of  the  sober,  the  real,  and  the 
true,  with  a  corresponding  chase  after  the  new,  the 
exciting,  the  fictitious.  We  have  indeed  some  use  for 
the  men  who  lived  great  lives  and  died  great  deaths 
for  God  and  man  on  our  own  soil  in  a  former  age;  for 
we  gather  scraps  of  their  weakness  from  history  where- 
with to  adorn  our  tales;  but  true  appreciation  of  their 
excellence  does  not  seem  to  lie  within  reach  of  those 
who  assume  to  lead  opinion  in  these  days. 

Some  may  be  disposed  to  congratulate  themselves 
that  although  the  Athenian  lightness  be  rife,,  yet  the 
Athenian  idolatry  that  grieved  Paul  does  not  venture 
to  rear  its  head  in  Christendom.  Even  this  comfort 
does  not  rightly  belong  to  us.  Without  taking  into 
account  the  Romish  image-worship,  which,  in  this 
country  at  least,  is  mainly  confined  to  churches,  and 
is  not  often  obtruded  before  the  public,  idolatry  in  an- 
other form  is  rampant;  for  "  covetousness  is  idolatry." 
The  old  Greeks,  like  the  modern  Asiatics,  worshipped 
with  bended  knee  the  idols  that  were  made  of  gold: 
we  worship  in  our  hearts  the  gold  of  which  their  idols 
were  made.  The  various  vices  that  ravage  our  cities, 
if  not  in  themselves  more  hideous  than  those  that  greeted 
the  apostle's  eye  in  Athens,  are  fitted  to  stir  into  greater 
keenness  the  compassion  of  an  observer,  because  they 
display  their  vileness  in  presence  of  a  brighter  and 
holier  light  than  that  of  Greek  philosophy.     Consider- 


Tlie  Philosophers.  327 

ing  our  privileges  and  attainments,  I  suspect  there  is 
more  to  make  an  apostle  shudder  in  Edinburgh  and 
London  than  there  was  in  Athens  and  Rome.  Oh,  it 
is  pitiful, ;  hat  near  a  whole  cityful  of  comfortable  chris- 
tianized i'"  habitants,  so  many  wretches  in  human  form 
should  be  permitted  to  torment  and  destroy  themselves 
and  one  another  by  open,  organized,  wholesale  vice 
and  crime. 

For  dealing  effectually  with  the  plague-spots  of  the 
land  and  the  plague-stricken  of  the  people,  we  have 
already  means  and  machinery  in  abundance.  What  is 
wanted  is  a  great  fire  of  love  in  human  hearts  to  set 
the  apparatus  in  motion.  We  have  good  meaning,  but 
little  might.  We  have  principle  already;  it  is  passion 
that  we  want, — passion  such  as  burned  in  the  heart  of 
Paul  when  he  looked  on  the  idolatry  of  Athens. 


LXXV. 

THE   PHILOSOPHERS. 

^'' Therefore  disputed  he  in  the  synagogue  zvith  the  Jews,  and  with  the 
devout  persons,  and  in  the  market  daily  with  them  that  met  with  hint. 
Then  certain  philosophers  of  the  Epicureans,  and  of  the  Stoics,  encoun- 
tered him.  And  some  said.  What  will  this  babbler  say  ?  other  some.  He 
seemeth  to  he  a  setter  forth  of  strange  gods:  because  he  preached  unto  them 
Jesus,  and  the  resurrection.'' — Acts  XVII.  17,  18. 

Although  it  was  the  idolatry  of  the  Greeks  that 
stirred  Paul's  spirit,  and  launched  him  single-handed 
on  the  work,  he  kept  his  old  rule  of  giving  the  first 
offer  of  the  gospel  to  the  Jews.  Even  here  he  began 
in  the  synagogue;  but,  as  might  have  been  expected, 
the  mission  to  the  heathen  soon  sprang  to  the  fore- 
ground, and  occupied  his  energies. 

In  the  market-place  he  discoursed  daily  to  all  who 
were  willing  to  listen.  The  method  indicated  by  the 
term  "disputed"  was  universal  among  the  Greeks.  It 
consisted  of  question  and  reply.  It  was  both  more 
lively  in  itself,  and  better  fitted  to  elicit  truth  than  any 


328  The   CJnircJL  in   the  House. 

of  our  modern  methods.  At  Tarsus,  Paul  was  trained 
to  such  disputations  in  his  youth;  and  doubtless  he  felt 
himself  at  home  in  the  Agora  of  Athens.  The  "ves- 
sel" was  chosen  because  of  its  capacity;  or  rather,  ca- 
pacity was  providentially  imparted  to  the  vessel,  be- 
cause such  an  instrument  was  needed  in  the  service 
of  the  King. 

Two  of  the  leading  sects  into  which  Greek  philoso- 
phy after  the  time  of  Socrates  had  broken  up,  immedi- 
ately appear  upon  the  field — the  Epicureans  and  the 
Stoics.  These  two  systems  were  reciprocally  antago- 
nistic. In  their  nature  and  mutual  relations  they  resem- 
bled somewhat  the  Sadducees  and  the  Pharisees  among 
the  Jews.  Paul  was  a  Pharisee  before  he  was  a  Chris- 
tian, and  if  he  had  lived  in  Athens  would  certainly 
have  attached  himself  to  the  Stoics. 

Both  sects  dealt  with  the  same  questions:  with  man, 
his  duty,  his  destiny,  his  relation  to  the  universe  and 
to  God. 

Epicurus  bought  a  garden  in  the  city,  and  taught 
his  disciples  there.  His  main  principle  was,  that  the 
chief  good  of  man  is  enjoyment.  It  is  due,  however, 
to  the  founders  of  the  sect  to  say  that  they  measured 
enjoyment  by  a  high  standard.  They  repudiated  sen- 
sual pleasures.  It  was  in  the  later  period  of  the  Roman 
Empire  that  this  philosophy  developed  into  unbridled 
licentiousness.  But  even  in  Paul's  time  its  maxims 
tended  to  degrade  humanity.  The  apostle  alludes  with 
horror  to  its  fundamental  maxim,  "  Let  us  eat  and 
drink,  for  to-morrow  we  die."  They  made  special  ef- 
forts to  free  themselves  from  the  fear  of  death.  Listen, 
O  ye  disciples  of  Epicurus  !  a  preacher  stands  in  the 
Agora  to-day  who  really  can  impart  to  you  this  secret. 
He  will  tell  you  of  One  who  can  "  deliver  them  who 
through  fear  of  death  were  all  their  lifetime  subject  to 
bondage."  * 

*  Thoughtful  heathens  of  that  time  were  much  exercised  about  the  shadow 
which  the  prospect  of  death  casts  over  the  path  of  the  living.  They  wove 
many  curious  and  acute  reasonings  together,  liy  way  of  covering;  l^ut,  alas! 
these  threads,  though  exhil^iting  great  ingenuity,  possessed  no  power.  Cic- 
ero— "Tusculan  Questions."  Book  I. — puts  the  matter  thus: — All  men  are 
either  alive  or  dead.  Those  who  are  alive  are  free  from  death,  and  those 
who  are  dead  are  free  from  it;  therefore  all  are  free,  and  none  should  fear. 
He  points  out,  with  laborious  hair-splitting,  that  no  man  has  anything  to  dc 


TJic   PJiilosophcrs.  329 

The  Stoics,  so  called  because  their  founder,  Zeiio, 
taught  in  a  porch  (Stoa),  were  in  many  respects  the 
opposite  of  the  Epicureans.  They  taught  that  man's 
chief  end  is  to  be  virtuous.  But,  alas  !  they  had  no 
certain  knowledge  of  what  virtue  is;  and  they  possessed 
no  power  to  lead  a  human  spirit  in  the  right  path,  even 
although  it  had  been  known. 

When  the  representatives  of  these  two  philosophi- 
cal sects  encountered  the  learned  Jew  in  the  market- 
place of  Athens,  they  would  soon  discover  that  he  was 
not  a  novice  in  their  own  arts.  The  Stoic  system,  es- 
pecially, must  have  been  familiar  to  Paul  in  his  youth 
at  Tarsus.  It  is  remarkable  that  from  the  time  of 
Zeno  to  the  time  of  Paul,  a  period  of  about  three 
huncired  years,  almost  all  the  leading  Stoics  were  Asi- 
atic Greeks;  and  three  of  these,  each  of  them  a  leader 
in  his  day,  were  of  the  same  province — Cilicia — and 
two  even  of  the  same  city — Tarsus — in  which  the 
apostle  was  educated.  Discussions  between  Epicure- 
an and  Stoic,  in  the  schools  of  Tarsus  when  Paul  was 
young,  must  have  held  the  same  place  which  the  dis- 
pute between  Romanists  and  the  Reformation  holds 
with  us.  There  was  the  same  interval,  the  same  sep- 
aration into  sects,  and  the  same  antipathy. 

Both  sections,  however,  soon  turned  against  Paul, 
as  Sadducee  and  Pharisee,  at  a  later  period,  combined 
at  Jerusalem  for  his  destruction.  All  parties  were  es- 
pecially scandalized  by  his  doctrine  of  "Jesus  and  the 
resurrection."  These  philosophers  could  not  bear  to 
be  told  of  a  crucified  Redeemer.  They  would  not  re- 
ceive the  fact  on  which  the  salvation  of  the  world  de- 
pends— that  Jesus  died  for  our  sins,  and  rose  again  for 
our  justification. 

Paul  was  as  eager  to  win  these  Greek  philosophers 
as  he  had  been  to  win  those  low,  ruffian  fortune-tellers 
who  haunted  the  precincts  of  the  temple  at  Ephesus. 
He  had  learned  from  the  Master  to  have  no  respect  of 
persons.  He  looked  on  the  learned  and  unlearned  as 
;\11  alike  lost,  unless  and  until  Christ  were  formed  in 

with  death.  It  cannot  come  to  the  livin;^,  for  when  it  comes,  he  is  no  longer 
living,  but  dead;  and  it  cannot  come  to  the  dead,  for  he  is  already  past  it, 
How  poor  are  these  speculations  of  philosophy,  in  presence  of  the  gospel  of 
Christ ! 


330  TJic .  CJiurcJi  in  the  House. 

them.  These  were  noble  specimens  of  humanity,  but 
they  were  fallen.  They  were  dead  in  sin,  and  they 
could  not  bring  themselves  to  life  again. 

Conceive  of  a  race  of  intelligent  beings  springing 
up  and  attaining  maturity  in  an  hour:  suppose  that 
hour  to  be  the  beginning  of  the  night;  they  are  Ephem- 
era; their  life-course  lasts  only  twenty-four  hours. 
The  first  half  of  their  existence  is  night.  They  exer- 
cise their  faculties  on  all  the  nocturnal  phenomena  of 
nature.  This  night,  we  shall  suppose,  has  been  varied. 
At  first  there  was  darkness;  afterwards  the  stars  ap- 
peared, and  later  still  the  moon.  The  world,  they 
thought,  was  now  glorious:  their  privileges  were  com- 
plete. Expectation,  imagination,  could  no  further  go. 
At  length  the  day  dawns  in  the  east,  and  the  sun  rises 
in  his  strength.  But  these  ephemeral  creatures  dc 
not  relish  the  light  of  day.  Their  faculties  have  de- 
veloped under  the  feeble  lights  of  the  night;  their 
senses  have  accommodated  themselves  to  their  cir- 
cumstances. They  are  content  with  what  they  pos- 
sess, and  busy  themselves  in  weaving  thick  curtains  to 
keep  out  the  sunlight. 

Such  were  the  Athenian  philosophers  when  the 
gospel  reached  them  in  the  preaching  of  Paul.  They 
had  light  of  a  kind.  Their  light,  such  as  it  was, 
reached  them  as  a  reflection  from  that  Sun  which 
they  had  never  seen.  But  so  accustomed  were  they 
to  the  darkness,  and  so  contented  with  it,  that  when 
the  Sun  appeared  they  shut  their  eyes  against  his 
healing  beams. 

The  discussions  which  sprang  up  in  the  market- 
place between  Paul  and  the  philosophers  soon  at- 
tracted a  crowd.  The  Greeks  were  sharp  enough  to 
perceive  that  there  was  something  deeper  in  the  dis- 
course of  the  stranger  than  the  daily  gossip  of  the 
streets.  By  common  consent  it  was  agreed  that  these 
matters  were  too  grave  to  be  dealt  with  in  the  noise  and 
jostling  of  the  market.  All  felt  instinctively  that  there 
must  be  an  adjournment.  The  cry,  "To  the  Are- 
opagus!" was  raised;  and  the  whole  mass — preacher, 
philosophers,  and  people — moved  together  from  the 
low,  level  market-place  up  to  the  venerable  rock. 
The  ascent,  abrupt  on  one  side,  was  an  easy  gradient 


The   PJiilosopJwrs.  331 

on  the  other.  The  rock  rose  to  a  height  of  about 
sixty  feet  above  the  plateau  that  lay  between  it  and 
the  much  more  elevated  Acropolis.  It  was  levelled 
on  the  top,  and  seats  for  the  magistrates  were  cut  in 
the  rock.  The  temple  of  Theseus,  the  most  ancient, 
and  still  the  best  preserved  of  their  shrines,  was  close 
by.  The  Acropolis,  crowned  with  the  Temple  of 
I\Iinerva,  the  patroness  of  the  city,  overhung  the  spot, 
as  the  Castle  rock  of  Edinburgh  overhangs  the  pla- 
teau on  which  Heriot's  Hospital  stands. 

In  this  open-air  court  all  the  great  trials  of  religion 
and  politics  had  been  conducted.  Grand  associations 
were  connected  with  the  spot.  In  this  case  it  was  not 
the  trial  of  a  criminal.  No  charge  was  preferred  against 
Paul.  It  was  an  adjournment  to  this  place  of  grave  and 
solemn  traditions,  that,  under  the  presidency  of  the 
magistrates  and  in  presence  of  the  people,  the  sub- 
lime themes  concerning  man  and  his  relation  to  God, 
broached  by  the  Jewish  stranger,  might  be  reasoned 
out.  Here  met  the  wisdom  of  this  world  and  the  fool- 
ishness of  preaching.  Here  the  Cross  of  Christ  came 
into  contact  with  the  best  that  human  reason  had  been 
able  to  discover.  Here,  as  elsewhere,  the  preached 
gospel  will  be  a  dividing  word.  The  cross  raised  on 
the  Areopagus  will  be  like  the  cross  erected  by  Pilate's 
soldiers  on  Calvary  in  this — that  on  one  side  of  it  there 
will  be  a  scorner,  and  on  the  other  side  a  sinner  saved 
by  faith.  From  the  one  side  you  hear  the  sneer,  "  If 
thou  be  Christ,  save  thyself  and  us;"  from  the  other 
the  prayer,  "Lord,  remember  me  when  thou  comest 
into  thy  kingdom."  In  Athens,  as  in  Jerusalem,  it  is 
"on  either  side  one,  and  Jesus  in  the  midst." 


332  TJie   Church   in   the  House. 

LXXVI. 

ALL    THINGS   TO  ALL  MEN. 


"  Then  Paul  stood  in  ike  midst  of  Mars''  hill,  and  said.  Ye  men  of 
Athens,  I  perceive  that  in  all  things  ye  are  too  superstitious.  For  as  I 
passed  by,  and  beheld  your  devotions,  I  found  an  altar  with  this  inscrip- 
tion. To  the  unknown  God.  Whom  therefore  ye  ignorantly  worship,  him 
declare  I  unto  vou,'"  ctc.—h.CX'?,  XVII.  22-31. 


Paul's  address  on  the  Areopagus  is,  even  in  a  merely 
literary  and  archaeological  point  of  view,  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  gems  that  have  descended  from  ancient 
to  modern  times.  In  itself,  and  in  its  adaptation  to 
circumstances,  it  exhibits  great  literary  power  and  con- 
summate skill.  It  is  a  fine  example  of  the  preacher's 
own  rule — that  is,  of  becoming  all  things  to  all  men 
that  he  might  gain  some.  He  grasps  firmly  at  the 
same  moment  both  his  own  aim  as  a  missionary  of 
Christ,  and  the  peculiar  character  of  his  audience.  His 
speech  is  a  noble  effort  to  win  for  the  gospel  the  most 
cultivated  and  refined  peo]jle  of  that  age.  It  is  a  grand 
crisis;  and  this  Jew  is  equal  to  it.  The  apostle  of  Jesus 
Christ  is  at  length  face  to  face  with  human  civilization 
in  its  highest  form,  and  his  aim  is  to  overturn  it — to 
place  it  on  a  new  foundation  and  animate  it  with  a 
new  spirit.  He  stands  up,  waves  his  hand,  and  be- 
gins. "  Athenians,  everything  I  behold  gives  evidence 
that  you  are  very  devotional."  The  words  of  the  Eng- 
lish version — "too  superstitious  " — are  not  happily  chos- 
en. It  is  quite  true  that  in  Paul's  view  their  worship 
was  superstition,  and  in  his  mind  the  word  he  employed 
attributed  to  them  a  reverence  for  demons.  But  the 
word  w^as  ambiguous,  and  to  his  audience  it  might  con- 
vey the  idea  of  religiosity  without  suggesting  anything 
offensive.  They  will  discover  as  he  proceeds  what  he 
thinks  of  their  religious  rites;  but,  in  the  first  instance, 
he  conveys  to  their  minds  only  the  idea  that  he  consid- 
ered them  very  religious.  He  speaks  the  truth  accord- 
ing to  his  own  judgment;  but  he  carefully  avoids  such 
harshness  at  the  outset  as  might  have  bereft  him  of 


All   Things   to   all  Mai.  333 

his  coveted  opportunity.  He  will  not  offend  the  au- 
dience in  the  first  sentence. 

This  missionary  is  a  philosopher  as  well  as  a  Chris- 
tian. He  will  preach  Christianity,  not  philosophy;  but 
he  will  employ  philosophy  as  an  instrument  in  his  work. 
According  to  the  symbolic  phraseology  of  the  Apoc- 
ah'pse,  the  earth  will  help  the  woman.  In  the  intense 
devotion  of  the  Athenians  Paul  recognized  a  power 
which  might  )'et  be  turned  to  good  account.  This  ap- 
petite for  the  spiritual  proclaims  man  to  be  the  child 
of  God,  although  in  a  state  of  disease  it  seeks  impure 
food.  This  appetite  may  yet  be  fed  with  the  bread  of 
life.  He  knew  that  the  "demon-dread"  with  which 
his  audience  were  affected  was  a  dark  superstition;  but 
he  did  not  openly  or  offensively,  in  the  first  instance, 
say  so.  He  will  lead  them  by  a  gentler  and,  as  he 
hopes,  a  surer  method  to  the  truth.  He  conciliates 
their  favor  by  acknowledging  their  religiousness;  and 
then  endeavors  to  turn  the  wandering  stream  of  their 
piety  into  the  right  channel. 

Paul  paced  the  streets  of  Athens  like  other  strangers. 
He  looked  eagerly  on  every  object  of  interest.  He 
observed  men  as  well  as  things;  actions  as  well  as 
scenes.  He  took  mental  note  of  all  that  he  saw,  and 
classified  the  facts  in  his  memory  for  subsequent  use. 
This  is  a  most  precious  faculty.  Any  person  can  see 
the  objects;  not  every  person  can  arrange  his  observa- 
tions in  order,  and  lay  them  where  they  will  be  avail- 
able in  time  of  need. 

Of  the  various  objects  which  had  attracted  his  at- 
tention on  the  streets,  one  now  started  to  his  memory, 
and  leaped  to  his  lips.  "As  I  passed  by,  and  beheld 
}-our  devotions,  I  found  an  altar  with  this  inscription. 
To  the  unknown  God."  Some  pilgrims  were  bringing 
a  votive  offering  and  laying  it  on  an  altar  as  the  apos- 
tle passed.  He  will  turn  aside  and  study  them.  He 
sees  the  inscription — "  To  the  unknown  God."  The 
sad  words  are  written  not  with  a  pencil  in  a  note-book, 
but  with  a  pen  of  iron  on  his  memory.  He  weeps  in 
secret  over  the  blindness  of  the  heathen.  He  possesses 
a  light  which  will  chase  away  that  darkness.  He  longs 
to  make  God  known  in  the  Mediator. 

These  idolaters  seem  to  have  advanced  one  step  be- 


334  '^^^^  Church  in  the  House. 

yond  their  own  idolatry.  They  felt,  and  sadly  owned, 
that  with  their  thirty  thousand  deities,  and  their  city 
full  of  temples,  they  had  not  yet  discovered  the  truth. 
There  remained  something  which  they  could  not  reach, 
and  without  which  they  could  not  be  happy.  After 
this  unknown  One  they  grope  blindfold.  They  stretch 
out  their  arms  into  night,  and  on  closing  them  embrace 
only  the  damp  air. 

The  astronomers  Leverrier  and  Adams,  in  separate 
countries  at  the  same  time,  observing  certain  motions 
among  the  spheres  which  could  not  be  accounted  for 
by  any  known  cause,  concluded  that  there  must  be  a 
body  not  yet  discovered,  somewhere  in  the  regions  of 
space  in  which  the  disturbances  were  observed.  Seek- 
ing in  the  direction  thus  indicated,  they  found  the  far 
distant  and  hitherto  unknown  world.  So  Greek  philos- 
ophy was  able,  from  the  appetites  and  vacancies  of  the 
human  mind,  which  all  the  idols  could  not  satisfy,  to 
determine  that  there  must  be  some  God  hitherto  from 
them  concealed,  to  v/hom  these  appetites  pointed,  and 
without  whom  they  could  not  be  satisfied.  Their  skill 
could  discover  in  a  general  Avay  their  need,  but  they 
could  not  by  their  searching  find  the  missing  Portion 
for  a  human  soul.  This  messenger  who  now  speaks  to 
them  can  supply  the  lack.  Through  Christ  he  can 
make  known  to  them  the  Father.  "Whom  therefore 
ye  ignorantly  worship,  him  declare  I  unto  you."  Paul 
was  willing  to  take  their  confessed  sense  of  want  as 
inquiry  after  the  living  God,  and  offered  to  lead  them 
by  the  gospel  into  his  presence. 

Incidentally,  while  preaching  to  the  philosophers, 
the  apostle  declares  the  unity  of  the  human  race.  Of 
one  blood  are  all  nations.  The  blood  is  the  life.  He 
conceives  of  it  as  a  river  flowing  from  one  fountain,  and 
branching  out  into  many  channels.  The  stream  has, 
in  point  of  fact,  been  continuous,  like  waters  that  fail 
not.  The  blood  that  flows  in  the  veins  of  this  genera- 
tion has  descended  in  an  uninterrupted  stream  from 
the  primeval  man.  This  stream  is  one;  it  had  not  sev- 
eral distinct  fountains. 

The  Greeks  were  a  fine  race  of  men;  and  they  knew 
it.  In  regard  to  physical  symmetry,  they  thought  of 
themselves  as  the  Pharisees  thought  of  their  spiritual 


All    Thill o^s    to   all  Men.  335 

attainments.  They  trusted  in  themselves  that  they 
were  intellectually  and  physically  beautiful,  and  de- 
spised others.  Mankind  were  divided  in  their  concep- 
tion into  two  great  sections — Greeks  and  Barbarians. 
They  would  not  admit  a  community  of  race  with  other 
peoples;  but  alas!  in  order  to  isolate  and  so  distinguish 
themselves,  the  highest  fiction  they  could  invent  was 
that  they  had  sprung  from  the  soil  of  Greece  ! 

This  old  heathen  fable  is  curiously  cognate  with  the 
latest  speculations  which  a  sect  of  secular  philosophers 
are  at  this  day  zealously  propagating.  The  old  fiction 
assumed  a  poetical  form — the  living  men,  full-bodied 
and  perfect,  sprang  from  the  mother  earth;  the  modern 
m\'th.  as  becomes  its  date,  is  dressed  up  in  a  complete 
suit  of  scientific  garments.  But  it  is  the  same  in  its 
substance;  for  it  represents  that  men,  body  and  soul  as 
you  now  behold  them,  came,  through  an  infinite  suc- 
cession of  steps  indeed,  but  still  came,  without  an  in- 
telligent cause,  from  dead  matter — that  is,  that  they 
sprang  from  the  ground.  Thus  human  reason,  when  left 
to  itself  in  matters  that  relate  to  God  and  the  soul,  spins 
round  in  a  giddy  circle,  and  thinks  it  is  making  progress. 

After  glancing  at  God's  providential  reign  over  the 
world,  the  preacher  comes  more  closely  home  to  his 
heathen  audience,  and  out  of  their  own  lips  convicts 
them  of  not  acting  up  to  the  light  they  possessed.  By 
the  mouth  of  their  own  poets  they  professed  them- 
selves to  be  the  offspring  of  God,  and  yet  they  wor- 
shipped wood  and  stone — the  work  of  their  own  hands. 
It  is  worthy  of  remark  here  that  Aratus,  the  poet 
whom  Paul  quotes,  was  a  native  of  Tarsus.  Paul  must 
have  been  acquainted  with  his  writings  in  the  schools 
of  his  native  place.  An  almost  identical  phrase  oc- 
curs also  in  the  hymn  to  Jupiter  by  Cleanthes,  a  dis- 
tinguished disciple  of  Zeno,  the  founder  of  the  Stoic 
sect.  Perhaps  the  preacher  glanced  toward  the  colos- 
sal statue  of  Minerva,  the  patron  saint  of  the  city,  fixed 
on  the  top  of  the  temple  that  crowned  the  Acropolis, 
the  pride  of  Athens  and  the  work  of  her  greatest  artist, 
while  he  uttered  the  withering  words,  "  Forasmuch  then 
as  we  are  the  offspring  of  God,  we  ought  not  to  think 
that  the  Godhead  is  like  unto  gold,  or  silver,  or  stone, 
graven  by  art  and  man's  device." 


33^  The  CJnirch  in  the  House. 

The  times  of  this  ignorance  God  looked  over — that 
is,  he  waited  for  his  own  set  time,  and  then  sent  the 
Word  forth  from  Jerusalem  to  the  nations.  In  that 
Word  he  commands  all  men  everywhere  to  repent. 
God  in  the  gospel  not  only  permits  and  invites,  he 
commands  men  to  repent  and  believe  and  live.  This 
is  his  commandment — to  Greeks  and  to  Britons — in  the 
first  century  and  the  nineteenth — his  coviinanduient  is, 
"  That  we  should  believe  on  the  name  of  his  Son  Jesus 
Christ,  whom  he  hath  sent." 


LXXVII. 

30ME  FELL  ON  THE  WA  YSIDE,  SOME  ON  GOOD  GROUND. 

"And  ivhc-ii  they  heard  of  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  some  mocked; 
and  others  said.  We  ivill  hear  thee  again  of  this  matter.  So  Paul  de- 
farted  from  among  them.  Howheit  certain  men  clave  inito  him,  and 
believed:  among  the  -which  was  Dionysius  the  Areopagite,  and  a  woman 
named  Damaris,  and  others  with  them.'''' — Acts  XVII.  32-34. 

On  the  Areopagus,  as  elsewhere,  Paul  would  have  more 
fully  opened  the  gospel  of  Christ  if  the  proud  audience 
had  been  willing  to  hear  him.  But  when  he  reached 
his  favorite  theme,  the  resurrection  of  Christ,  they  lost 
patience,  and  raised  an  uproar.  They  rudely  shut  the 
preacher's  mouth,  and  so  shut  the  door  of  mercy  against 
themselves.  It  is  instructive  to  observe  wherein  the 
offence  of  the  cross  specifically  lay  in  those  times  and 
for  those  people;  it  lay  in  the  resurrection  of  Christ, 
which  implied  also  his  death  as  an  atonement  for  sin. 
The  Athenians  could  bear  the  cutting  remarks  of  the 
stranger  on  their  own  ignorance,  as  confessed  in  the 
memorable  altar-inscription;  they  could  bear  the  ex- 
posure of  their  own  inconsistency  in  acknowledging 
God  their  Father,  and  yet  paying  homage  to  a  marble 
statue;  they  cpuld  bear  the  announcement  of  a  great 
assize  in  which  the  whole  world  must  stand  before  a 
human  judge,  Divinely  appointed  to  distribute  rewards 
and    punishments;    but  when   Paul   proceeded  to  de- 


Soffic  fell  on   tJtc   Wayside.  337 

clare  the  central  f^ict  on  which  the  hope  of  men  must 
hancj — the  atoning  death  and  the  c^lorious  resurrection 
of  the  man  Christ  Jesus — their  philosophy  and  polite- 
ness could  not  bear  them  further — they  broke  out 
into  scornful  interruptions,  and  the  speaker's  voice  was 
drowned  in  the  tumult.  This  is  the  offence  of  the  cross 
to-day.  How  significant  in  this  aspect  are  the  words 
of  the  Lord:  "  Blessed  is  he  who  shall  not  be  offended 
in  me." 

Paul  departed  from  among  them  doubtless  with  a 
heavy  heart.  It  seemed  to  him  at  that  moment  that 
his  labor  was  lost.  Not  long  after,  however,  he  learned 
that  some  of  the  good  seed  had  fallen  into  broken  ground. 
Even  on  the  hard  soil  of  the  Areopagus,  where  he  had 
scattered  his  seed  weeping,  he  gathered  sheaves  with 

joy- 
That  congregation  of  Greeks  was  divided  into  three 
distinct  parts.  The  descriptions  are  given  with  great 
distinctness.  Paul  rightly  divided  that  day  the  Word 
of  truth,  and  the  Word  divided  the  hearers  into  distinct 
and  well-defined  groups:  into  mockers,  hesitators,  and 
cleaving  believers.     Examine  them  one  by  one. 

I.  The  mockers.  When  the  preacher  spoke  of  the 
resurrection  of  the  dead,  a  portion  of  the  audience 
loudly  jeered  him.  Paul  told  the  story  of  the  cross: 
how  the  Son  of  God  took  our  nature,  and  in  it  suffered 
death  for  our  sin;  that  through  Divine  power  he  rose 
from  the  dead  and  ascended  into  heaven;  and  that  all 
who  accept  him  as  their  Saviour,  will  rise  to  reign  with 
him  for  ever.  It  was  at  this  point  that  a  portion  of  these 
volatile  Athenians  began  to  make  sport  of  the  preacher. 
These,  whether  socially  higher  or  lower,  were  in  spirit 
the  hardest  and  coldest  of  the  company.  They  were 
fast  and  free  livers.  Probably  they  belonged  to  the  sect 
of  ICpicureans.  They  enjoyed  life,  and  kept  the  thought 
of  death  away.  They  made  no  apology  to  the  distin- 
guished stranger;  they  did  not  take  the  trouble  of  mak- 
ing a  hypocritical  promise  to  consider  the  subject  and 
call  again.  Nor  were  they  content  with  simply  neglect- 
ing the  message.  They  made  sport  of  the  preacher  and 
his  theme  in  presence  of  the  assembly.  They  went  away 
laughing  at  the  truth  of  God  and  the  God  of  truth. 
If  our  voice  could  reach  the  modern  representatives 


338  The   Church  in  the  House. 

of  these  jolly  Greeks,  we  should  affectionately  and 
solemnly  suggest  to  them  that  if  God  is,  their  laugh 
will  not  make  him  cease  to  be ;  that  their  destiny  is  long, 
but  their  views  at  present  short:  that  they  have  not  made 
sure  that  when  we  are  dead  we  are  done;  that  it  is  a  fear- 
ful thing  for  a  scoffer  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  living 
God.  What  if  the  very  intellect  that  enables  you  to 
entertain  the  question  Avhether  there  be  a  God,  be 
conclusive  evidence  that  there  is  a  God  who  gave  it? 
What  if  this  "No  God,"  a  judgment  pronounced  by  an 
intelligent  self-conscious  spirit,  be  itself  evidence  that 
God  is  ?  If  God  had  not  been,  there  could  have  existed 
no  creature  capable  of  entertaining  the  question  whether 
there  be  a  God. 

2.  The  hesitators.  "Others  said,  We  will  hear  thee 
again  '~-i  this  matter."  They  listened  respectfully  to 
the  public  address;  and  when  the  hubbub  caused  by 
the  scorners  had  subsided,  they  approached  the  speaker 
and  politely  excused  themselves  for  not  complying  with 
his  invitation.  These  men  were  between  two  opposites, 
and  perhaps  found  themselves  in  a  strait.  On  the  one 
side,  in  a  group  that  clustered  round  the  preacher,  they 
might  observe  gushing  tears  and  other  symptoms  of 
broken  hearts;  and  on  the  other  side,  they  might  see 
the  smile  of  scorn  curling  on  the  lips  of  scoffers  as  they 
descended  the  steps  into  the  forinn  again.  Perhaps 
these  men  were  really  perplexed,  and  meant  to  recon- 
sider the  subject.  Convinced  in  their  consciences  that 
the  testimony  of  the  apostle  had  all  the  air  of  truth, 
they  did  not  dare  to  scoff;  but  wedded  to  their  own 
ease  and  pleasure,  they  were  not  willing  to  take  up  the 
cross  ar.d  follow  Christ.  Accordingly  they  adopted  an 
intermediate  course.  They  made  a  respectful  apology 
to  the  preacher  and  went  away.  Counting  the  time 
of  closing  with  Christ  an  evil  day,  they  put  it  as  far  off 
as  they  could.  They  did  not  venture  to  say  Never; 
but  they  went  the  length  of  saying,  Not  now. 

This  intermediate  class  is  very  numerous  in  our  own 
age.  They  are  a  very  large  flock;  and  in  their  present 
condition  it  is  not  the  Father's  good  pleasure  to  give 
them  the  kingdom.  They  do  not  erase  the  gospel  from 
their  creeds;  but  they  will  not  permit  it  to  reign  in 
their  hearts  and  mould  their  lives.     They  are  willing 


Some  fell  on  the   Wayside.  339 

to  possess  a  religion;  but  not  willing  that  religion 
should  possess  them.  They  will  wear  it  as  a  very 
becoming  ornament;  but  they  will  not  flee  to  hide  in 
it  as  their  life.  They  will  keep  near  the  door  which  it 
opens,  that  they  may  run  into  it  at  any  moment  when 
their  case  becomes  desperate;  but  they  will  not  press 
through  it  now,  lest  some  right  arm  should  be  torn  off 
in  the  passage,  and  the  presence  of  Christ  within  should 
cast  a  damp  over  their  vain  pleasures.  They  would 
fain  hope  that  Christ  will  stand  ready  to  open  the  door 
of  heaven  for  them  on  that  day;  but  they  are  not  will- 
ing to  open  the  door  of  their  hearts  for  him  this  day. 
They  slumber  while  the  Bridegroom  passes;  alas  !  it  is 
to  be  feared  the  Bridegroom  will  refuse  to  open  when 
at  length  they  begin  to  knock  and  cry. 

We  have  reached  deep  waters  at  last,  after  pass- 
ing the  noisy  foam  and  the  deceitful  shallows.  After 
passing  in  review  the  scorners  and  the  procrastinators, 
we  have  come  to — 

3.  The  believers.  "  Howbeit,  certain  men  clave  unto 
him  and  believed."  First  of  all,  it  is  instructive  to  ob- 
serve the  relations  in  which  the  Athenian  believers 
stood  to  Paul  the  minister  on  the  one  hand,  and  to 
Christ  the  Redeemer  on  the  other.  They  clave — they 
were  glued  to  the  preacher.  As  iron  under  the  influ- 
ence of  the  magnetic  current  cleaves  to  the  magnet, 
their  hearts  held  to  the  man  who  made  the  Saviour 
known.  To  the  stranger  Jew  who  told  of  Jesus  cruci- 
fied and  risen,  those  Greek  citizens,  including  one  at 
least  of  the  ruling  class,  fondly,  firmly  clung  as  to  their 
life.  Strange;  and  that  too  at  the  moment  when  their 
quick-witted  countrymen  were  making  merry  with  the 
outlandish  opinions  and  speech  of  the  foreigner.  A 
principle  more  secret  and  more  strong  than  magnetism 
had  been  generated  in  their  hearts  by  this  preacher's 
word.  By  an  irresistible  law  of  the  new  nature  they 
were  drawn  to  the  man  who  made  known  the  Saviour 
of  sinners.  But,  tender  though  their  love  was  to  Paul, 
through  whom  the  word  came,  it  did  not  terminate  on 
him.  They  cleaved  to  him  and  believed;  that  is,  while 
this  man's  lips  were  the  channel  through  which  the 
word  of  life  reached  them,  the  ultimate  longing  of  their 
hearts — their  ultimate  grasp — reached  and  rested   on 


340  The   Church   in   tlie  House. 

Christ  crucified,  whom  Paul  preached.  They  cleaved 
to  Paul,  but  they  believed  in  Christ. 

No  wonder  that  these  newly  converted  Greeks 
cleaved  to  the  skirts  of  Paul.  He  was  already  a 
strong  man.  He  had  reached  full  stature,  and  was 
more  vigorous  in  faith  and  hope  than  others,  because 
his  graces  had  all  been  greatly  tried.  They  were  little 
children,  and  the  world  a  treacherous  sea;  it  was  nat- 
ural that  they  should  cling  to  their  spiritual  father,  as 
if  for  their  life. 

An  artist  has  painted  a  marine  scene  at  the  crisis 
of  a  heart-stirring  event,  and  the  group  is  constituted 
thus:  From  the  rigging  of  a  distressed  ship  on  a  wild 
sea  a  stout  rope  hangs  over  the  side.  In  the  lower 
extremity  of  that  rope  a  solitary  seaman,  evidently  a 
volunteer  in  the  business,  his  strong  limbs  and  stronger 
heart  going  into  it  with  all  their  might,  a  solitary  sea- 
man hangs.  To  the  seaman  clings  a  mother,  and  to 
the  mother,  seen  dimly  through  the  drifting  spray, 
clings  an  infant.  The  cry,  "  They're  saved,"  rings  out 
that  moment  from  the  eager  spectators  who  watch  the 
crisis  from  the  deck.  The  seaman  was  the  child's  sa- 
viour that  day;  yet  the  seaman  touched  not  the  child; 
the  child  touched  not  the  seaman.  The  mother  was 
sustained  by  that  hero's  strength,  and  the  child  hung 
upon  the  mother.  It  is  in  some  such  way  as  this  that 
Christ  was  the  Saviour  of  those  Greeks,  although  they 
grasped  Paul,  as  if  they  were  glued  to  his  person.  The 
apostle  served  at  the  moment  as  a  link  between  them 
and  the  Lord:  "ministered  by  us." 

We  know  that  this  minister  was  faithful.  He  was 
zealous  for  the  honor  of  his  Lord  and  the  safety  of 
his  brethren.  If  he  had  seen  that  those  Greeks  were 
making  him  their  idol,  he  would  have  skaken  off  their 
grasp  with  livelier  loathing  than  that  with  which  he 
shook  the  venomous  reptile  from  his  hand  into  the  fire 
at  Malta.  If  he  had  seen  that  they  were  superstitiously 
looking  to  him  for  help,  he  would  have  rebuked  them 
as  he  rebuked  others  with  that  terrible  demand,.  "Was 
Paul  crucified  for  you  .''  " 

There  is  a  world  of  meaning  in  this  cleaving — this 
glueing  of  themselves  to  their  instructor.  The  danger 
is  great,  the  time  is  short,  the  struggle  is  hard.     Chris- 


Sovif  fell  ON   the   Wayside.  34 1 

tianity  is  not  a  pleasant  dream;  it  is  a  real  warfare. 
The  corresponding-  expression  in  Peter's  exhortation 
throws  light  on  the  eager  cleaving  of  our  text.  "  The 
righteous,"  he  intimates,  "are  scarcely  saved."  It  is 
a  close  run,  a  hair-breadth  escape,  like  the  escape  of 
Lot  from  Sodom  when  the  angels  laid  hold  of  him  and 
dragged  him  away  from  doom.  It  is  the  salvation  of 
one  who  strips  off  not  only  his  wealth  and  his  pleasures 
and  his  ornaments  to  escape  through  the  narrow  gate 
as  poor  as  he  was  born,  but  of  one  who  strips  himself 
off — the  old  man  with  his  deeds — and  enters  life  as  he 
was  born  again — the  new  creature  only.  I  think  I  see 
groups  of  sinners  saved,  assembling  immediately  within 
the  gate,  telling  each  other  of  their  dangers  and  escapes, 
every  heart  beating  with  the  recent  tumult,  but  every 
eye  beaming  with  unspeakable  delight.  Through  fire 
and  water  they  have  been  brought;  but  now  they  are 
in  a  wealthy  place. 

Let  none  be  surprised  when  they  see  the  anguished 
earnestness  of  awakened  souls.  Be  surprised  and  sus- 
picious rather  when  the  matter  is  taken  coolly. 

The  first  sensations  of  this  cleaving  are  beyond 
measure  sweet  to  a  missionary  at  home  or  abroad. 
He  has  toiled  in  the  ministry  for  a  series  of  years, 
wearied,  and  almost  wearied  out,  by  a  dreary  alter- 
nation of  Paul's  first  two  Athenian  experiences — the 
scoff  of  the  mockers,  and  the  heartless,  soulless  apol- 
ogy of  the  worldling  as  he  turns  his  back.  When  he 
is  at  the  point  of  giving  over  in  despair,  he  is  startled 
by  an  unwonted,  almost  unexpected  sensation.  Surely 
the  line  that  he  has  held  dangling  loose  over  that  dreary 
sea  for  so  many  nights  was  tightened  a  little.  It  is 
even  so.  The  line  is  tight  and  heavy.  His  heart  leaps 
for  joy.  The  missionary  feels  living  souls  cleaving  to 
his  own,  that  he  may  help  them  to  Christ  their  life. 
This  cleaving  to  the  servant  is  a  symptom  of  believing 
in  the  Lord. 

Although  Christ  alone  is  the  Saviour,  the  ministry 
of  man  holds  an  important  place.  How  tender  are 
these  relations  in  time  !     How  happy  in  eternity ! 


342  The  Church  m  the  House. 

LXXVIII. 

THE    WORLD  BY  WISDOM  KNEW  NOT  GOD. 

"  After  these  things  Paid  departed  from  Athens,  and  came  to  Corinth;* 
etc. — Acts  xviii.  1-9. 

"  After  these  things  Paul  departed  from  Athens." 
Alas  !  he  had  seen  little  fruit  in  that  city.  "  The 
world  by  wisdom  knew  not  God." 

The  apostle  seems  to  have  been  interrupted  by  an 
outburst  of  contempt,  as  soon  as  he  reached  his  main 
subject. — Jesus  and  the  resurrection.  They  listened 
respectfully  as  long  as  he  contended  with  the  Epicure- 
ans and  the  Stoics:  they  were  interested  by  his  dis- 
course on  natural  religion;  perhaps  they  admired  his 
dialectic  against  idolatry:  but  as  soon  as  he  began  to 
preach  Jesus,  they  raised  a  shout  of  derision  and  drowned 
the  preacher's  voice. 

"  They  walked  according  to  the  course  of  this  world, 
the  spirit  that  now  worketh  in  the  children  of  disobedi- 
ence." The  spirit  that  ruled  them  permitted  them  to 
hear  Paul's  philosophy,  but  raised  a  tumult  to  prevent 
them  from  listening  to  Paul's  gospel.  The  strong  man 
armed  kept  his  goods  in  peace,  as  long  as  the  prelimi- 
nary argument  lasted;  but  at  the  approach  of  this  tes- 
timony to  Jesus,  he  dreaded  lest  a  stronger  than  he 
should  burst  in;  accordingly  he  quickly  shut  the  gates. 

It  is  a  melancholy  reflection  that  the  gospel  in  great 
measure  failed  in  Athens.  There  is  no  epistle  of  Paul 
to  the  Athenians,  while  no  less  than  two  letters  of  his 
to  each  of  the  two  great  mercantile  cities,  Thessalonica 
and  Corinth,  have  come  down  to  us.  Athens  in  the 
midst  sat  alone  as  a  queen,  representing  the  philosophy^ 
and  the  art  of  Greece.  There  the  kingdom  of  Christ 
could  not  obtain  a  footing.  But  Thessalonica  on  the 
one  side,  and  Corinth  on  the  other,  became  the  scenes 
of  great  missionary  success,  the  sites  of  early  and  flour- 
ishing Christian  Churches. 

The  wealth  and  luxury,  and  even  profligacy  of  Cor- 
inth, did  not  in  point  of  fact  present  so  hard  a  wayside 


TJic   World  by    JVisdom  kimv  tiot   God.         343 

for  the  seed  as  the  earthly  wisdom  of  Athens.  Not 
only  licentious  Corinth,  but  barbarous  Melita,  and 
warrior  Rome,  afforded  to  the  living  word  a  better 
seed-bed  than  the  schools  of  contending  philosophies. 

Some  have  connected  this  lack  of  success  wiih  the 
special  method  adopted  by  the  apostle  among  the  Athe- 
nians. They  have  said,  his  experience  discourages  every 
effbrt  to  accommodate  the  presentation  of  the  gospel  to 
the  tastes  and  attainments  of  the  audience.  In  short, 
they  imagine  that  Paul  made  a  blunder  in  attempting 
to  adapt  his  discourse  to  the  mental  habits  of  the  phi- 
losophers; and  that  the  result  shows  he  should  have 
delivered  his  message  in  the  same  form  at  Athens  as 
at  Philippi.  But  this  is  a  mistaken  view.  The  preach- 
ing comparatively  failed  at  Athens,  not  because  of 
the  preacher's  method,  but  in  spite  of  it.  The  mes- 
sage was  rejected  although  Paul  did  much  to  commend 
it  to  the  cultivated  Greeks;  how  much  more  if  he  had 
neglected  all  art  and  effort  in  his  approaches  !  This 
sower  went  forth  to  sow,  and  sowed  very  skilfully:  but 
the  seed  did  not  grow,  because  the  ground  en  which 
it  fell  was  dry  and  hard. 

Every  minister  of  the  Word  should  do  his  utmost  to 
become  all  things  to  all  men,  that  he  may  gain  some: 
but  when  he  has  delivered  his  message,  and  tiic  mes- 
sage has  been  neglected,  let  not  men  deceive  them- 
selves with  the  reflection  that  the  cause  of  their  care- 
lessness was  the  unskilfulness  of  the  preacher. 

I  do  not  excuse  negligence  in  the  preacher.  I  ask 
no  leniency  of  judgment  in  his  favor.  He  is  I'^excus- 
able  if  he  do  not  put  all  his  force  and  skill  into  his 
work,  for  it  is  an  errand  of  life  and  death  on  which  he 
is  sent:  but  I  earnestly  warn  all  who  hear  the  gospel 
that  no  charge  against  the  preacher's  methods,  how- 
ever well  founded,  will  relieve  from  condemnation  those 
who  are  not  in  Christ. 

He  came  to  Corinth,  about  forty-five  miles  distant. 
The  province  of  Achaia  then,  like  the  modern  kingdom 
of  Greece,  consisted  of  the  Morea  and  a  portion  of  the 
mainland  on  the  north.  There  were  two  Roman  prov- 
inces— Macedonia  on  the  north,  with  Thessalonica  as 
the  capital;  and  Achaia  on  the  south,  with  Corinth  as 
its  capital.     Tiie  city  occupied  an  advantageous  posi- 


344  '^^^^   CJnirch   iJi  the  Htmse. 

tion  on  the  neck  of  the  peninsula,  with  shipping  on 
either  side.  At  several  periods  attempts  had  been 
made  to  cut  a  canal  across;  but  they  had  never  been 
successful.  It  was  often  in  time  of  war  fortified  by  a 
wall.  Corinth  had  been  destroyed  by  a  Roman  arm}'; 
but  Julius  Caesar  restored  it;  and  at  the  time  of  Paul's 
visit  it  had  again  become  a  great  city.  It  enjoyed  an 
extensive  commerce. 

Here  Paul  attached  himself  to  a  worthy  Jewish 
couple,  Aquila  and  Priscilla,  who  were  tent-makers, 
and  who  subsequently  at  various  places  gave  effective 
aid  to  the  ministers  of  the  gospel.  In  their  company 
and  in  their  workshop  he  labored  with  his  hands,  earn- 
ing his  daily  bread,  and  preaching  as  he  obtained  oppor- 
tunities in  the  city.  A  workshop  is  not  a  bad  place 
for  preaching  in.  If  the  heart  of  one  workman  is  filled 
with  the  love  of  Christ,  all  the  hands  will  hear  of  it. 
Every  Sabbath-day  the  synagogue  was  open,  and  Paul 
plied  his  opportunity  there.  He  seems  in  the  first  in- 
stance to  have  associated  almost  exclusively  with  the 
Jews  in  Corinth,  perhaps  because  of  the  bitter  dis- 
appointment he  met  at  the  hands  of  the  Greeks  in 
Athens. 

After  Silas  and  Timothy  rejoined  him,  Paul  launched 
out  more  boldly  in  his  mission  at  Corinth.  But  again 
a  storm  of  persecution  arose.  The  Jews  as  usual  were 
the  bitterest  enemies  of  the  gospel.  In  the  midst  of 
his  discouragement,  however,  a  great  consolation  was 
conferred  upon  him  in  the  conversion  of  Crispus,  the 
chief  ruler  of  the  synagogue,  and  all  his  house.  Writ- 
ing afterwards  to  the  Church  at  Corinth,  Paul  said 
that  with  the  temptations  that  had  been  allowed  to 
come,  the  Lord  had  also  opened  a  way  of  escape.  He 
spoke  from  his  own  experience.  Very  heavy  trials 
overtook  him  in  that  city;  but  God  who  sent  them  did 
not  leave  him  to  sink.  He  made  a  way  of  escape;  and 
that  way  was  a  Divine  revelation.  "The  Lord  spake 
to  Paul  by  a  vision."  Left  to  his  own  sagacity  and 
vigor,  the  treatment  he  met  at  Corinth,  coming  im- 
mediately after  his  experience  at  Athens,  might  have 
been  too  much  for  the  missionary.  At  Athens  he  ad- 
dressed himself  to  the  Gentiles,  but  his  efforts  failed; 
in  Corinth  he  returned  to  the  synagogue,  but  the  Jews 


TJie  Missionary  and  tJw   Govcrnon.  345 

opposed  themselves  and  blasphemed.  "Then  spake 
the  Lord:"  man's  extremity  is  God's  opportunity. 
When  all  seemed  shut  around  this  witness,  a  door  of 
escape  was  opened.  Help  came  precisely  when  it  was 
needed.  When  Pharaoh  is  already  pressing"  on  the 
rear  of  the  camp,  the  Red  Sea  divides  in  front,  and  the 
people  pass  over,  the  people  wiiom  the  Lord  has  re- 
deemed. When  Timothy  and  Silas  prove  too  feeble 
as  comforters,  the  Master  himself  sustains  his  faintin_^ 
servant  in  the  everlasting  arms.  "  Lo,  I  am  with  you 
ahva\-s."  It  is  ever  so  in  the  experience  of  disciples: 
when  I  am  weak,  then  am  I  strong. 


LXXIX. 

THE  MISSIONARY  AND   THE   GOVERNOR. 

"  Then  spake  the  Lord  to  Paul  in  the  night  by  a  vision.  Be  not  afraid, 
but  speak,  and  hold  not  thy  peace:  for  I  am  with  thee,  and  no  man  shall 
set  on  thee  to  hurt  thee:  for  I  have  much  people  in  this  city.  And  he 
continued  there  a  year  and  six  months,  teaching  the  word  of  pod  among 
them,'"  i-Zc— Acts  xvtii.  g-17. 

We  may  learn  much  of  Paul's  inner  character  by  ob- 
serving what  the  Master  promised  him  for  encourage- 
ment in  his  difficulties  at  Corinth.  The  Lord  knew  the 
missionary's  heart — where  its  weakness  lay,  and  what 
would  avail  to  give  him  support.  Now,  by  marking 
what  the  omniscient  Physician  precribes,  we  gain  an 
infallible  diagnosis  of  the  patient's  ailments.  Two  dis- 
tinct grounds  of  comfort  are  supplied;  therefore,  we 
may  conclude,  two  distinct  fears  oppressed  the  mis- 
sionary's heart.  The  twin  comforts  are  assurance  of 
personal  safety,  and  the  promise  of  many  souls  as  his 
hire;  the  twin  fears  accordingly  were,  lest  the  violence 
of  the  persecutors  should  crush  him,  and  lest  his  labor 
in  the  ministry  of  the  Word  should  be  in  vain.  The 
one  fear  shows  Paul's  weakness,  and  the  other  shows 
his  strength.  In  fear  of  danger  and  love  of  life,  Paul 
was  like  other  men,  and  needed  the  assurance  of  Divine 
protection;  but  the  motive  of  his  ministry  was  to  save 


346  '         The  Church  in  the  House. 

men,  for  he  who  knows  his  heart  is  able  to  assume, 
that  the  hope  of  winning  souls  will  make  him  brave 
every  danger  in  the  prosecution  of  his  work. 

"  Speak;  for  I  have  much  people  in  the  city."  De- 
spondency was  freezing  the  stream  of  motive,  and  the 
machinery  of  the  missionary's  life  was  about  to  stand 
still:  hope  of  success,  given  by  the  word  of  his  Master, 
melted  the  ice,  and  the  work  went  on.  This  demon- 
strates that  Paul  preached  in  order  to  win  souls. 

An  interesting  and  comforting  view  of  Divine  sover- 
eignty is  opened  up  here,  a  view  that  tends  to  recon- 
cile all  differences  of  opinion  among  the  disciples  of 
Christ,  and  induce  them  to  accept  meekly  all  that  the 
Scripture  reveals,  waiting  for  the  solution  of  mysteries 
till  the  books  are  opened.  The  Lord  intimates  to  Paul, 
"  I  have  much  people  in  this  city,"  at  a  time  when  these 
persons  were  Jews  or  heathen.  It  was  in  purpose  and 
prescience  as  yet  that  he  had  them  as  his  peo-ple,  and 
not  in  accomplished  fact.  Now,  whether  we  be  able 
to  understand  that  doctrine  in  its  depth  or  not,  the 
Lord,  who  revealed  it,  knows  his  own  meaning.  Ob- 
serve what  he  considers  is  its  tendency,  and  to  what 
purpose  he  applied  it.  He  gives  no  countenance  to 
the  dilemma,  suggested  sometimes  in  sadness  and 
sometimes  in  scorn:  *'  I  am  either  chosen,  or  I  am  not: 
if  I  am  chosen,  I  shall  be  saved,  and  so  need  not  exert 
myself;  and  if  I  am  not  chosen,  I  cannot  be  saved, 
whatever  exertion  I  may  make."  Whatever  the  doc- 
trine of  election,  as  revealed  in  Scripture,  may  mean, 
it  does  not  mean  that.  Oh,  the  Divine  simplicity  of 
the  Word  of  God  !  "  Speak;  for  I  have  much  people  in 
this  city."  This  prescience,  instead  of  suppressing 
effort,  is  given  as  the  encouragement  to  exertion. 
And  Paul  understood  his  Lord.  The  intimation  that 
a  multitude  of  the  Corinthians  would  certainly  be  saved, 
spurred  him  on  to  instant  and  persevering  labor  in  the 
gospel,  that  thereby  he  might  save  some.  Let  the 
doctrine  be  understood  as  the  Lord  then  gave  it,  and 
as  his  servant  then  received  it,  and  instead  of  placing 
a  millstone  on  the  shoulders  of  a  missionary,  it  will  take 
a  millstone  off. 

"People"  here  is  the  exact  equivalent  of  the  term 
employed  throughout  the  Old  Testament  to  designate 


The  Missionary  and  the   Governor.  347 

Israel  tlic  chosen  nation.  This  people  is  now  no  longer 
Abraham's  seed  according  to  the  flesh;  it  is  a  com- 
munity gathered  from  all  kindreds  and  tongi: .s,  knit 
into  a  new  brotherhood  by  faith  in  Christ.  As  the 
Lord  had  warned  Paul  at  Jerusalem  that  the  Jews 
would  reject  the  gospel,  he  warns  him  at  Corinth  that 
the  Greeks  would  receive  it.  The  promise  is  transferred 
from  a  particular  family  to  believers  of  every  land. 

The  apostle  "was  not  disobedient  to  the  heavenly 
vision;"  he  continued  there  a  year  and  six  mouths, 
which,  with  his  views  of  life  and  work,  must  have 
seemed  to  him  a  lengthened  sojourn. 

It  was  because  his  hands  were  full  and  his  gains 
great  that  he  remained  so  long  in  one  place.  I  do  not 
venture  to  say  that  we  should  exactly,  in  this  matter, 
follow  the  apostle's  example;  but  I  do  venture  to  say 
that  we  should  not  exactly  reverse  it.  If  a  minister 
should  occupy  one  place  for  a  lifetime,  precisely  because 
he  was  altogether  unsuccessful,  it  would  be  a  melan- 
choly reversal  of  apostolic  practice.  The  Church  would 
be  stronger  in  our  day  if  the  rule  were,  that  those  la- 
borers who  fail  to  "  get  gain"  in  one  city,  should  quickly 
m.ove  on  to  another. 

In  this  history  there  is  no  account  in  detail  of  Paul's 
labors  in  Corinth.  We  know,  however,  from  hints  given 
elsewhere  (i  Cor.  i.  2,  26-28;  vi.  9-1 1),  that  he  rr  ate- 
rially  changed  his  method.  In  particular,  he  ceased  to 
frame  his  address  so  as  to  suit  the  habits  of  the  Greek 
philosophers,  and  simply  told  the  story  of  the  cross. 
This  change  might  be  due  to  a  combination  of  two 
causes;  he  might  think  that  his  comparative  failure  at 
Athens  did  not  encourage  him  to  persevere  in  the  plan 
he  adopted  there  and  he  might  also  find  that  busy  mer- 
chants of  Corinth  required  a  simpler  and  more  direct 
treatment  than  the  literary  circles  of  Athens. 

While  Gallio  represented  the  Roman  Emperor  as 
Governor  of  Achaia.  the  Jewish  inhabitants  of  tl.o  city 
concocted  a  criminal  accusation  against  Paul,  and  fol- 
lowed it  up  with  tumultuous  demonstrations.  It  was 
precisely  thus  that  the  Jews  of  Jerusalem  dealt  with 
Paul's  Master  under  the  govcrnrnent  of  Pjlate.  lay  tho 
combined  action  of  fanatical  Jews  and  a  heathc"!  "uler, 
the  Lord  was  put  to  death;  how  shall  Paul,  in  similar 


34^  The   CJnirch   in  tJie  House. 

circumstances,  escape  a  similar  issue  ?  How  shall  the 
promise,  "  No  man  shall  set  on  thee  to  hurt  thee,"  be 
fulfilled  now  ? 

If  Gallio  should  vacillate  and  yield  like  Pilate,  the 
missionary's  life  might  indeed  be  spared  for  the  time, 
for  he  could  again  exercise  his  privilege  as  a  Roman 
citizen :  he  might  have  appealed  to  Caesar.  But  this  would 
have  put  a  stop  to  his  preaching  in  Corinth,  and  how 
then  could  the  "  much  people  "  be  won  to  Christ  ?  The 
time  was  not  yet.  The  Lord  hath  need  of  this  mis- 
sionary for  a  while  in  Greece  and  Asia  before  he  is 
sent  to  Rome. 

How  then  was  the  promise  of  preservation  fulfilled 
to  Paul  }  Through  the  personal  character  of  the  pro- 
consul Gallio.  Some  clear  notes  of  this  man's  history 
and  disposition  have  been  handed  down  to  us.  He  re- 
ceived this  name  through  adoption  into  the  family  of  one 
Gallio,  a  rhetorician.  His  brother  was  Seneca  the  phi- 
losopher. He  was  a  man  of  singular  gentleness  and 
amiability.  His  brother  writes  of  him  in  terms  of  the 
most  admiring  affection.  His  health  was  feeble:  he 
left  Corinth  sick,  declaring  that  his  illness  was  due  to 
the  climate  of  that  region.  His  brother  Seneca  soon 
after  fell  a  martyr  to  Nero's  cruelty;  and  there  is  a 
tradition  that  Gallio  himself  ultimately  shared  the  same 
fate. 

The  Jews  had  obtained  from  the  government  a  legal 
license  and  protection  for  their  religion;  and  they  hoped 
that  on  their  complaint  the  preaching  of  Paul  would  be 
suppressed  by  the  magistrate.  They  stated  their  case 
before  the  proconsul's  tribunal;  but  when  Paul,  in  turn, 
was  about  to  speak  in  his  own  defence,  the  judge  inti- 
mated to  him  that  no  reply  was  necessary.  He  would 
not  enter  into  the  case  on  its  merits.  He  woula  dismiss 
it  without  argument  as  incompetent.  If  it  had  been 
any  matter  of  civil  right,  he  would  have  tried  the  case, 
and  pronounced  judgment;  but  as  it  related  only  to 
different  views  of  the  Jewish  religion,  he  declined  to 
interfere.     It  did  not  lie  within  his  jurisdiction. 

Gallio  seems  to  have  seen  pretty  clearly  the  dis- 
tinction which  puzzles  many  legal  and  legislative  heads 
in  our  day  between  things  civil  and  things  sacred — 
between  that  which  touches  a  citizen  in  person   and 


The  Missionary  and  tJie   Govcy}ior.  349 

property,  and  that  which  lies  between  a  man's  con- 
science and  God,  His  refusal  immediately  afterwards 
to  interfere  when  the  Jews  beat  the  ruler  of  their  own 
synagog'ue  in  his  presence,  I  rather  think  is  not  really 
inconsistent  with  this  view;  for  it  is  altogether  probable 
that  the  beating  was  only  a  formal  affair,  intended  not 
to  punish  Sosthenes,  who  was  their  own  rabbi,  but  to 
draw  the  governor  out  of  his  neutrality  by  a  sort  of 
trick-. 

How  great  the  difference  between  Pilate  and  Gallio  ! 
And  how  great  issues,  in  the  purposes  of  God,  depended 
on  that  difference!  Pilate  was  a  cold-blooded,  selfish 
man;  he  was  consequently  a  weathercock  when  the 
storm  arose  and  beat  upon  him  from  opposite  directions 
in  quick  succession.  But  he  settled  down  at  last  on 
the  point  to  which  he  was  driven  by  the  popular  breeze, 
and  a  selfish  regard  for  his  own  interests.  Gallio,  on 
the  contrary,  was  a  man  at  once  just  and  gentle  and 
unselfish.  He  was  proof  alike  against  the  legal  pleas 
and  the  insurrectionary  violence  of  the  Jews.  He  saw 
through  them,  and  despised  them.  He  would  not  sup- 
press Paul's  free  speech  to  please  his  fanatical  adversa- 
ries. He  did  what  he  believed  right,  without  consider- 
ing what  it  might  cost  him. 

If  Gallio,  instead  of  Pilate,  had  been  proconsul  in 
Judaea  when  the  priests  conspired  to  put  Jesus  to  death, 
what  would  have  been  the  result }  But  we  need  not 
speculate.  I  have  put  the  question  in  order  to  intimate 
that  it  should  not  get  an  answer.  Christ,  our  Passover, 
was  sacrificed  for  us.  He  offered  himself:  and  all  things 
conspired  to  fulfil  his  great  design.  If  it  had  been  his 
will  to  avoid  the  cross  and  leave  mankind  to  perish,  he 
could  have  placed  a  Gallio  on  Pilate's  judgment-seat. 


350  The   Church  in  the  House. 

LXXX. 

PAUL  AND  APOLLOS. 

'■'■  And  Paul  after  this  tarried  there  yet  a  good  while,  and  then  took 
his  leave  of  the  brethren,  and  sailed  thence  into  Syria,  and  with  him 
Priscilla  and  Aqiiila;  having  shorn  his  head  in  Cenchrea:  for  he  had  a 
voio,''''  etc. — Acts  xviii.  18-28. 

Under  cover  of  this  providential  deliverance  the  mis- 
sionaries were  enabled  to  prosecute  their  work  until  a 
Church  was  organized  in  Corinth.  Then  Paul  took 
leave  of  the  brethren, — perhaps  of  Timothy  and  Silas, 
as  well  as  of  the  native  converts.  His  work  in  Europe 
for  that  time  was  accomplished.  Four  Churches  had 
been  founded.  He  had  completed  a  square  in  the 
Roman  provinces  of  Macedonia  and  Greece.  There 
stands  the  "Quadrilateral," — Philippi,  Thessalonica, 
Berea,  and  Corinth, — erected  on  the  soil  of  Europe, 
and  manned  by  soldiers  of  Jesus  Christ,  who  will  hold 
it  for  him  against  all  assaults.  The  true  Heir  of  the 
world  is  infeoffed  now  in  possession  of  its  brightest 
continent.  Here  already  in  germ  dwell  the  ruling  race. 
Here  the  plenipotentiary  of  the  Great  King  has  planted 
the  royal  standard,  and  although  there  may  be  many 
recedings  and  advancings,  as  in  a  prolonged  battle,  it 
may  be  assumed  that  the  Lord  will  find  that  signal  still 
floating  when  he  comes  again. 

Paul  "took  leave  "of  his  friends  at  Corinth.  Though 
a  strong  man,  he  was  also  a  tender  one.  Tears  fell  on 
the  shore  at  Cenchrea  that  day,  as  afterwards  at  Mi- 
letus. Although  this  apostle  seemed  to  be  a  man  of 
iron  when  endurance  for  the  sake  of  the  gospel  was 
required,  he  manifested  an  almost  feminine  softness  in 
his  intercourse  with  those  who  loved  him.  No  letter 
that  I  am  acquainted  with,  either  ancient  or  modern, 
contains  such  a  list  of  special  and  distinguishing  love- 
messages  as  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans.  The  Jewish- 
Christian  couple  with  whom  he  lodged  and  labored  in 
Corinth  accompanied  him  in  his  journey.  Besides  their 
desire  to  continue  longer  in  the  company  of  their  in- 


Paul  and  A  polios.  351 

structor,  they  may  have  found  that  their  trade  could 
be  more  ad\antageously  prosecuted  in  Asia,  the  seat 
of  the  manufacture. 

I  do  not  think  that  much  importance  should  be  at- 
tached to  the  fact,  incidentally  mentioned  here,  that 
he  had  his  head  shorn  in  Cenchrea,  before  embarking, 
on  account  of  a  vow.  Paul's  idea  of  liberty  under  the 
gospel  did  not  go  the  length  of  forbidding  liberty. 
He  bore  witness  that  those  who  made  any  of  these 
observances  their  righteousness  before  God,  shut  them- 
selves out  from  Christ:  but  when  any  one  was  justified 
through  faith  in  the  Redeemer,  Paul  and  his  fellow- 
apostles  allowed  the  convert  unlimited  liberty  to  ob- 
serve or  not  observe  the  Jewish  ceremonial.  It  is 
pleasant  to  suppose  that  Paul  himself  would  rejoice 
to  practice  occasionally  some  of  these  rites,  now  that 
he  knew  their  typical  meaning.  He  had  often  toiled 
through  them  when  they  were  to  him  a  dead  letter: 
I  could  conceive  that  it  might  be  a  refreshment  to 
him  to  observe  some  of  the  old  ordinances  after  they 
had  become  to  him  spirit  and  life  through  faith  in 
Jesus. 

We  have  much  to  learn  yet  in  the  matter  of  the 
liberty  which  the  Gospel  brings.  We  have  an  invet- 
erate tendency  to  lay  bonds  on  ourselves  and  our 
neighbors,  where  Christ  meant  that  we  should  be  free. 
The  tightness  of  this  binding  confines  and  weakens 
the  life.  The  principle  of  the  rule  laid  down  regard- 
ing the  second  marriage  of  a  widow  might  be  ex- 
tended so  as  to  reach  many  other  cases;  "She  is  at 
liberty;  only  in  the  Lord." 

"  He  came  to  Ephesus."  Corinth  and  Ephesus  were 
the  great  commercial  centres  of  Greece  and  Asia,  the 
New  York  and  Liverpool  of  those  times  and  regions. 
Cicero  made  the  passage  by  sea  in  fifteen  days,  but  he 
considered  the  voyage  a  long  one:  thirteen  days  were 
occupied  in  the  return. 

On  his  arrival  at  the  city  Paul  separated  from  his 
fellow-travellers,  and  instantly  began  his  work,  in  the 
usual  way,  by  reasoning  with  the  Jews  in  the  syna- 
gogue. His  ministry  at  Ephesus  on  this  occasion, 
however,  was  very  brief  Determined,  for  some  rea- 
son not  explained,  to  be  at  Jerusalem  during  the  ap- 


352  The   Church   in   the  House. 

preaching  feast,  probably  Pentecost,  he  resisted  the 
entreaties  of  his  friends,  and  took  ship  for  Caesarea. 

He  reached  Jerusalem  according  to  his  plan,  but 
the  record  is  silent  as  to  his  occupation  and  experi- 
ences there.  Did  he  call  the  Christians  together,  and 
"  rehearse"  all  that  the  Lord  had  done  by  him  among 
the  Gentiles  ?  Did  he  make  a  pilgrimage  to  Calvary  ? 
Did  he  stand  and  weep  on  the  spot  where  Stephen 
died  ?  We  do  not  know:  not  one  word  of  information 
is  given  on  these  subjects.  Probably  no  result  bearing 
on  the  kingdom  sprang  from  that  visit  to  Jerusalem; 
and  the  Spirit,  not  ministering  to  our  curiosity,  passes 
it  over  in  silence.  To  Antioch  again  the  attention  of 
the  reader  is  directed,  for  that  great  capital  had  now 
become  the  point  of  departure  and  return  for  the  mis- 
sionaries of  the  cross. 

Paul  did  not  retrace  his  steps  to  Antioch  in  order 
to  remain  there.  After  getting  and  giving  refreshment 
through  intercourse  with  the  Church  for  a  time,  he  set 
out  on  another  missionary  tour.  Nor  did  he  on  this 
occasion  take  a  new  route.  He  traversed  Asia  Minor 
westward  on  the  track  of  his  own  former  journey.  He 
revisited  the  Churches  that  he  had  formerly  planted. 
To  cherish  and  instruct  and  edify  young  and  feeble 
believers  is  recognized  as  worthy  occupation  for  an 
apostle,  even  although  the  work  of  bringing  in  the 
heathen  should  be  for  a  time  postponed  on  account  of 
it.  The  little  ones  of  the  family  are  dear  to  the  Master 
and  therefore  dear  to  all  his  servants. 

Incidentally  we  learn  (i  Cor.  xvi.  i)  that  on  this 
journey  he  requested  contributions  for  the  poor  Chris- 
tians in  Jerusalem.  This  is  at  least  one  fruit  of  his 
brief  visit  to  that  city.  Like  his  Lord,  he  went  about 
doing  good. 

Here  the  history  leaves  Paul  for  awhile,  and  intro- 
duces some  things  that  happened  at  Ephesus  in  his  ab- 
sence. Apollos,  a  Jew  of  Alexandria,  intellectually 
trained  in  the  celebrated  schools  of  his  native  city, 
learned  and  accepted  the  gospel  through  a  true  but 
defective  ministry.  This  man  came  to  Ephesus,  and 
began  to  preach  with  great  acceptance  and  power.  He 
only  knew  the  testimony  borne  to  Christ  by  John  the 
Baptist:  but  he  pressed  the  truth,  as  far  as  he  knew 


PluI  and  A  polios.  353 

it,  with  great  eloquence  and  great  zeal.  Priscilla  and 
Aquila  heard  him,  and  discerned  his  spirit.  At  a 
glance  they  saw  three  things:  ist,  that  he  was  a  true 
disciple  of  Christ;  2nd,  that  he  had  great  power  as  a 
reasoner  and  orator;  and,  3rd,  that  he  was  defective 
in  his  knowledge  of  the  gospel.  Here  was  an  oppor- 
tunity for  the  tent-makers.  Tliey  could  not  teach  in 
the  synagogue;  but  they  could  instil  their  knowledge 
privately  into  the  mind  of  Apollos.  They  could  not 
preach;  but  they  could  make  a  preacher. 

Here  we  discover  the  reason  why  the  Lord  in  his 
providence,  when  this  pair  were  expelled  from  Rome, 
guided  their  steps  to  Corinth,  where  they  learned  the 
gospel  from  Paul;  and  then  induced  them  to  go  with 
Paul  to  Ephesus,'  and  remain  in  that  city  after  .their 
great  instructor  left  it.  The  same  Divine  care  that 
brought  Philip  and  the  Ethiopian  prince  together  in 
the  desert,  brought  the  tent-makers  and  Apollos  toge- 
ther in  the  city  of  Ephesus.  He  was  a  capacious  vessel: 
and  they  possessed  that  word  of  the  Lord  with  which 
the  vessel  must  be  charged.  As  soon  as  they  met, 
the}'  imparted,  and  he  received,  what  was  lacking  to 
make  him  an  able  minister  of  Jesus  Christ.  This  meet- 
ing which  took  place  on  earth  was  arranged  in  heaven. 
It  is  not  in  man  that  walketh  to  direct  his  steps;  He 
who  directs  them  hath  done  all  things  well.  "  Whoso 
is  wise  and  will  observe  these  things,  even  he  shall 
understand  the  loving  kindness  of  the  Lord."  When 
disciples  of  Christ,  coming  from  different  directions, 
meet  and  hold  intercourse,  let  them  watch  and  pray. 
They  may  expect  to  give  or  to  get:  perhaps  they  may 
both  give  and  get  reciprocally. 

After  profiting  by  his  intercourse  with  Aquila  and 
Priscilla,  Apollos  crossed  over  into  the  province  of 
Achaia,  and  was  of  great  use  to  the  infant  Churches 
there.  Paul  had  planted;  but  he  was  not  able  to  re- 
main long  beside  his  work.  The  plants  in  the  scorch- 
ing of  that  season  were  ready  to  die:  Apollos  arrived 
opportunely  to  water  them.  Paul  planted  the  Church 
in  Corinth;  Apollos  watered  it;  and  God  gave  the 
increase. 


354  The   Church  in  the  Ho7ise. 


LXXXI. 

CONVINCING  AND  PERSUADING. 

'■'■And  hi  went  into  the  synagogue,  and  spake  boldly  for  the  spaa  oj 
three  months,  disputing  and  persuading  the  things  concerning  the  kingdom 
of  6'o^/."— Acts  xix/8. 

While  Apollos  was  ministering  in  Corinth,  Paul,  in 
fulfilment  of  his  promise,  returned  to  Ephesus.  He 
had  hastened  eastward  to  Palestine,  landed  at  Caesarea, 
hurried  up  to  Jerusalem,  and  saluted  the  brethren  there. 
Thence  he  travelled  quickly  northward  to  Antioch. 
From  Antioch  he  started  on  his  third  missionary  cir- 
cle. Passing  through  Asia  Minor,  doing  a  little  every- 
where, but  remaining  long  nowhere,  he  again  came  to 
Ephesus,  the  principal  city  of  the  whole  region,  on  the 
western  coast.  It  was  the  entrepot  between  Greece 
and  Asia. 

The  missionaries  of  the  earliest  age  always  found 
their  way  to  the  great  cities.  It  was  a  wise  method. 
The  cities  were  the  pulsing  hearts  of  their  several  prov- 
inces; and  principles  deposited  there  soon  spread  by 
natural  arteries  to  all  parts  of  the  land.  The  mission- 
aries skilfully  seized  the  chief  centres  of  influence  and 
power. 

On  his  arrival  at  Ephesus,  he  found  a  little  company 
of  disciples  in  the  heart  of  the  great  heathen  city.  All  the 
Christianity  of  the  place  gravitated  toward  Paul.  Like 
draws  to  like.  The  apostle  in  Ephesus  was  like  a  mag- 
netic bar  thrust  into  a  great  heap  of  rubbish:  forthwith 
all  the  filings  of  real  steel  that  existed  in  the  miscella- 
neous mass  were  found  adhering  to  its  sides.  The 
attraction  and  cohesion  of  kindred  spirits  is  a  beautiful 
and  beneficent  law  of  the  new  kingdom. 

We  discover  in  this  far-off  region  some  direct  results 
of  the  Baptist's  preaching  in  the  wilderness  of  JudcXa. 
Some  of  those  who  heard  that  preacher  must  have 
emigrated  before  the  death  of  Christ  and  the  descent 
of  the  Spirit  at  Pentecost.  They  had  beheld,  at  John's 
in\-itation,  the  Lamb  of  God,  and  believed  to  the  sav- 


Convincing   and  Persuading.  355 

ing  of  their  souls;  but  they  had  not  obtained  the  fuller 
knowledge  of  the  gospel  which  came  after  the  resur- 
rection to  the  chosen  witnesses.  To  these  men,  and 
in  answer  to  their  prayers  for  greater  light,  the  apostle 
of  the  Gentiles  was  sent,  as  a  vessel,  bearing  the  name 
of  Christ  more  fully  revealed.  As  Philip  was  sent  to 
the  desert  of  Gaza  with  the  water  of  life  to  the  thirst- 
ing Ethiop,  Paul  was  sent  on  the  same  errand  to  those 
t\velve  men  and  their  companions  who  panted  for  the 
living  water  in  the  desert-place  of  a  huge  idolatrous 
city.  The  Lord  knoweth  them  that  are  his,  and  how 
to  find  them  out.  He  will  never  leave  them,  nor  for- 
sake them. 

He  entered  the.  synagogue  as  usual,  and  "spake 
boldly  for  the  space  of  three  months."  In  this  Book 
much  is  made  of  boldness.  The  early  disciples  felt 
their  need  of  it,  longed  for  it,  prayed  for  it,  and  ob- 
tained it.  Courage  displayed  by  the  preacher  implies 
a  cruel  persecution  by  the  enemies  of  the  cross.  Strange 
that  when  a  message  from  heaven  is  about  to  be  pro- 
clained,  great  courage  should  be  requisite  in  the  herald 
who  bears  it.  The  message  is  peace  and  pardon.  Surely 
a  servant  of  the  government  may  risk  himself  in  the 
very  heart  of  a  convict  prison  alone,  if  he  is  the  bearer 
of  a  royal  pardon  for  all  the  inmates.  In  such  a  case, 
it  would  not  be  necessary  to  look  out  for  a  man  of  rare 
courage,  who  might  dare  to  carry  the  proclamation  to 
the  convicts.  Give  him  but  the  message  of  free  par- 
don, and  he  may  go  in  unarmed  with  all  safety,  like 
Daniel  in  the  den  of  lions. 

When  Christ  himself  came  to  the  world — the  great 
convict  prison  of  the  universe — came  the  ambassador 
from  God,  bringing  peace,  they  said,  This  is  the  heir; 
come,  let  us  kill  him.  He  came  unto  his  own,  and  his 
own  received  him  not;  and  the  servant  is  not  greater 
than  his  Lord. 

Do  preachers  of  the  gospel  need  courage  still  .^  Not 
in  the  same  sense  and  of  the  same  kind.  They  are  not 
put  in  prison  for  faithfulness  in  declaring  the  whole 
counsel  of  God.  But  as  long  as  the  carnal  mind  is 
enmity  against  God,  there  must  be  opposition  to  the 
gospel  from  some  quarter.  You  might  as  well  e.xpect 
to  escape  from  the  law  of  gravitation  when  you  travel 


356  TJie   ClmrcJi   in   the  House. 

to  China,  as  expect  that,  when  so  many  centuries  have 
run  their  course,  courage  is  no  longer  necessary  to  a 
preacher  of  the  cross.  The  Jews  opposed  the  gospel 
at  an  earlier  stage.  They  opposed  the  publication  of 
the  doctrine:  we  allow  the  doctrine  to  pass  freely  from 
the  preacher's  lips,  but  do  not  permit  the  kingdom  to 
come  in  power  over  our  hearts  and  lives.  If  we  should 
denounce  as  boldly  that  form  of  opposition  to  Christ 
which  is  rife  amongst  ourselves,  as  the  apostles  de- 
nounced that  which  prevailed  in  their  day,  perhaps  we 
should  taste  some  of  their  experience. 

In  those  days  the  testing-point  lay  higher  up;  in 
our  days  it  lies  lower  down.  Then  the  real  struggle 
occurred  at  the  profession;  now  it  occurs  at  the  prac- 
tice. The  cross  then  was  to  own  themselves  the  dis- 
ciples of  Christ;  it  was  this  step  that  cost:  the  cross 
with  us  is  not  there;  it  is  easy  for  us  to  own  his  name; 
the  difficulty  lies  in  so  following  him  that  our  lives 
shall  be  a  continual  reproof.  Their  temptation  was  to 
fall  into  the  track  of  the  first  son  whom  the  father 
ordered  to  work  in  his  vineyard — to  say,  "  I  will  not." 
Our  temptation  is  to  copy  the  answer  of  the  second, 
"  I  go,  sir;  "  and  then  to  spend  the  day  in  seeking  our 
own  pleasures.  The  stress  for  them  lay  in  the  promise; 
the  stress  for  us  lies  in  the  performance.  If  modern 
ministers  were  as  bold  in  demanding  performance,  as 
the  apostles  were  in  demanding  profession,  perhaps 
their  course  would  not  flow  so  smoothly. 

The  theme  of  the  preacher  was  "the  kingdom  of 
God."  The  preaching  of  these  men  was  a  new  thing 
in  the  world.  They  were  not  contented  with  a  niche 
in  the  temple  for  another  idol,  a  day  in  the  calendar 
for  an  additional  saint.  They  demanded  the  overthrow 
of  all  idols,  and  the  establishment  of  another  throne 
in  their  stead.  They  proposed  a  King  who  should  be 
absolute  and  sole. 

The  things  that  Paul  preached  did,  no  doubt,  con- 
cern the  kingdom  in  its  final  glory;  but  this  kingdom 
in  heaven  afar,  he  uniformly  presented  as  the  legitimate 
and  certain  issue  of  a  kingdom  now  established  in  be- 
lieving hearts.  First,  the  kingdom  of  heaven  in  you; 
and  next,  you  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  Let  Christ 
reign  in  you  now,  and  you  will  reign  with  him  in  that  day. 


Convincing   and  Persuading.  357 

If  I  leave  him  standintj  at  the  door  knocking  throuc^h- 
oLit  the  da}'  of  grace,  lie  will  leave  me  standing  at  the 
door  knocking  when  the  da}'  of  grace  is  done. 

Mark  the  manner  of  the  apostolic  preaching:  "  dis- 
puting and  persuading."  The  first  makes  the  matter 
clear  to  the  intellect,  and  the  second  makes  it  power- 
ful on  the  will.  The  first  enables  you  to  know  the 
true,  and  the  second  induces  }^ou  to  do  the  right. 
These  are  the  two  elements  of  which  all  right  preach- 
ing consists.  The  proportions  may  vary  indefinitely 
with  circumstances;  but  every  sermon  should  contain, 
in  some  measure,  both  constituents. 

On  the  one  hand,  a  discourse  should  not  be  merely 
exposition  of  doctrine;  it  ought  to  persuade  as  well  as 
unfold.  The  preacher  may  not  meet  the  hearers  again, 
until  he  is  called  to  give  an  account.  He  ought  to  be- 
seech them  to  be  reconciled  unto  God.  On  the  other 
hand,  mere  exhortation  will  not  suffice.  God,  who 
has  given  us  understanding,  expects  us  to  exercise  it 
in  the  highest  of  all  concerns.  He  who  would  persuade 
his  brethren  to  serve  the  Lord,  should  endeavor  to 
convince  them  that  it  is  a  reasonable  service. 

Disputing  means  reasoning;  but  this  does  not  imply 
that  religion  is  founded  on  reason.  Reason  is  the  builder, 
not  the  foundation.  Reason  constructs  religion,  not 
on  itself,  but  on  the  Scriptures.  There  is  a  good  deal 
of  pretence  on  this  subject  at  the  present  da}^  Those 
who  affect  to  be  philosophers,  freel}^  insinuate  that 
religious  people  put  reason  aside  when  they  approach 
the  spiritual  sphere,  and  proceed  upon  faith  instead. 
This  is  a  false  issue.  Reason  and  faith  are  not  antag- 
onistic, so  that,  in  accepting  the  one  you  discard  the 
other.  Reason  is  no  more  discarded  from  religion  than 
from  philosophy.  In  former  times  human  reason  oc- 
cupied too  exalted  a  place  in  philosophy.  It  was 
made  the  foundation;  and  the  structure,  consequently, 
crumbled  and  fell.  Bacon  introduced  a  radical  reform. 
He  removed  reason  from  its  usurped  position  as  a  foun- 
dation, and  gave  it  the  place  of  operator.  For  basis  he 
substituted  ascertained  facts;  on  these,  as  a  foundation, 
reason  was  permitted  to  rear  her  fabric,  and  a  goodly 
palace  meets  our  view  to-day  as  the  result  of  this  new 
method.     By  the  Reformation  a  parallel  process  was- 


358  The  Church  in  the  House. 

established  in  the  sphere  of  religion.  As  the  facts  of 
the  material  or  mental  creation  constitute  the  basis 
on  which  reason  builds  a  philosophy,  so  the  doctrines 
and  facts  of  revelation  constitute  the  basis  on  which 
reason  builds  a  theology.  On  both  spheres  reason  is 
the  builder,  not  the  basis. 

In  regard  to  the  place  of  reason  in  the  domain  of 
religion,  two  opposite  extremes  exist.  Positivism  makes 
reason  everything;  Popery  makes  it  nothing.  The  one 
will  make  it  master;  the  other  will  not  permit  it  even 
to  serve.  The  Protestant  principle  stands  midway  be- 
tween these  extremes.  It  permits  and  demands  the 
free  exercise  of  human  reason,  but  limits  it  in  this  do- 
main to  what  is  revealed  in  the  Word:  precisely  as  the 
Baconian  philosophy  permits  and  demands  the  exer- 
cise of  human  reason  in  the  sphere  of  philosophy,  but 
limits  it  to  the  observed  facts  and  laws  of  nature. 

After  expounding  the  truth,  the  preacher /^v'.y?/rtrft'5 
his  auditors  to  comply  with  it.  Exposition  is  neces- 
sary but  not  sufficient;  without  it  you  must  fail,  but 
even  with  it  you  may  fail.  Though  the  understanding 
be  convinced,  the  will  may  remain  perverse.  A  man 
may  be  convinced  that  God  is  lovely,  and  yet  not  love 
God.  You  may  own  that  Christ  is  offered  to  you,  and 
yet  not  accept  Christ.  You  may  know  truth,  and 
yet  follow  lies.  This  is  a  fact  in  history;  it  cannot 
reasonably  be  denied,  and  should  not  be  carelessly 
overlooked.  It  is  a  startling  and  solemnizing  dis- 
covery. Paul  was  greatly  moved  when  he  found  "a 
law  in  his  members  "  warring  against  the  law  of  God 
which  was  in  his  mind.  His  understanding  was  car- 
ried; but  his  heart  still  resisted.  In  his  own  exper- 
ience he  found  out  the  power  which  was  able  to  con- 
trol the  will  and  mould  the  life.  The  love  of  Christ 
constrained  him,  when  all  other  motives  failed.  This 
power,  accordingly,  he  was  always  ready  to  apply 
when  he  found  reasoning  to  be  impotent.  He  will  be- 
seech his  Roman  correspondents  to  yield  themselves 
a  living  sacrifice,  holy  and  acceptable  to  God;  but  he 
beseeches  them  "  by  the  mercies  of  God."  He  depends 
on  this  weight  to  overcome  the  inertia  of  the  carnal 
mind,  and  set  heart  and  life  in  motion  like  a  running 
stream  in  the  service  of  God  and  man. 


The  Strong  Man  cast  out  by  the  Stronger.     359 

The  two  great  constituents  of  the  Christian  minis- 
try are  to  convince  and  persuade;  to  enlighten  the  un- 
derstanding, and  to  win  souls. 


LXXXII. 

THE   STRONG  MAN  CAST  OUT  BY   THE    STRONGER. 

'■'■But  ivhen  divers  were  hardened,  attd  heliez'ed  not,  but  spake  roil 
of  that  zuay  before  the  multitude,  he  departed  from  them,  and  separated 
the  disciples,  disputing  daily  in  the  school  of  one  Tyrannus.  And  this 
continued  by  the  space  of  two  years;  so  that  all  they  which  divelt  in  Asia 
heard  the  word  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  both  feivs  and  Greeks.  And  God 
wrought  special  miracles  by  the  hands  of  Paul:''''  etc. — Acts  XIX.  9-17. 

Jesus,  preached  by  Paul  in  Ephesus,  did  not  bring 
peace  to  its  people.  In  the  first  instance  there  ^as 
a  sword.  "  Divers  were  hardened  and  believed  not." 
These  Jews  spoke  evil  of  "  the  way."  Christ  an- 
nounced himself  as  the  way,  and  the  only  way,  to  the 
Father;  but  when  he  came  to  his  own,  they  received 
him  not.  They  would  have  none  of  him.  The  servant 
retired  from  those  who  rejected  his  Master.  He  ob- 
tained accommodation  in  the  school  of  one  Tyrannus, 
and  taught  there  for  two  years.  It  is  not  certain 
whether  Tyrannus  was  a  Jew  or  Greek.  In  either 
case  his  academy  was  independent  of  the  synagogue, 
and  thus  he  was  enabled  to  shelter  the  preacher  of  the 
cross. 

All  that  dwelt  in  Asia  heard  the  gospel.  The  peo- 
ple from  the  surrounding  country  and  the  adjacent 
towns  took  an  opportunity  of  hearing  the  new  doc- 
trines when  they  came  to  the  capital  on  business. 
This  method  prevailed  in  the  times  of  the  Reforma- 
tion. The  country  people,  after  having  sold  their 
produce  in  the  market-square,  crept  into  the  neigh- 
boring church  and  heard  the  Scriptures  e.xpounded. 
Then  they  returned  to  their  homes  with  both  gains — 
one   in   their  hearts,  and   the  other  in  their  pockets. 


360  The   CJmrch   in  the  House. 

Thus  the  Word  had  free  course,  and  was  glorified 
throughout  the  neighboring  provinces. 

Besides  the  preaching  of  the  Word,  special  miracles 
were  wrought  in  Ephesus.  The  passage  is  somewhat 
obscure.  There  may  have  been  some  testimony  given 
to  Paul's  word  in  that  heathen  city,  on  account  of  the 
magicians  who  plied  their  craft  there,  similar  to  the 
signs  wrought  by  Aaron  in  presence  of  the  Egyptian 
wonder-workers.  In  any  case,  this  was  not  the  ordi- 
nary experience  of  Paul.  It  was  peculiar  and  extra- 
ordinary. An  exceptional  testimony  is  vouchsafed  to 
him  once  in  exceptional  circumstances,  and  it  is  wide 
as  the  world  apart  from  the  degrading  and  tricky  traf- 
fic in  spurious  relics,  which  has  become  a  permanent 
institution  of  the  Papacy. 

As  the  P^gyptian  magicians  in  some  form  imitated 
the  signs  wrought  by  Moses,  the  soothsayers  of  Ephe- 
sus— in  this  case  disreputable  Jews — attempted  to  work 
wonders  in  imitation  of  Paul  by  pronouncing  the  name 
of  Jesus.  There  is  much  material  for  thought  in  the 
ansAver  given  by  the  possessed  maniac  to  these  sorcer- 
ers: "Jesus  I  know,  and  Paul  I  know;  but  who  are  ye.-*" 
It  is  the  same  in  kind  with  the  response  of  the  Pytho- 
ness at  Philippi.  It  is  a  remarkable  declaration.  It  is 
not  only  out  of  the  mouth  of  babes  and  sucklings  that 
the  Lord  can  draw  forth  his  own  praise:  he  can  make 
the  wicked  praise  him,  as  well  as  the  weak.  Such  a 
testimony  was  borne  by  an  unclean  spirit  to  the  Lord 
himself:  "  I  know  thee,  who  thou  art,  the  Holy  One  of 
God." 

An  application  of  this  Scripture  is  possible  to  our 
own  day  and  our  own  circumstances.  The  evil  spirit 
seems  to  possess,  and  energize,  and  weild  at  will,  cer- 
tain classes  and  sections  of  the  people.  They  seem 
like  the  man  who  cut  himself  and  wore  no  clothes,  and 
dwelt  among  the  tombs.  They  are  a  torment  to  them- 
selves, and  a  terror  to  their  neighbors.  They  might  have 
clothes,  and  food,  and  home;  but  they  wildly  cast  all 
these  away,  and  live  like  the  beasts. 

The  evil  spirits  of  the  present  time,  like  those  of  Paul's 
day,  are  subject  only  to  one  power.  They  do  not  give 
way  before  reading  and  writing.  New  houses  and  good 
wages  will  not  drive  them  out.     Even  the  prison  and 


TJie  Strotig  Man  cast  out  In'  the  Stronger.     3'ji 

the  gibbet  fail  to  scare  them.  A  goodly  number  of  the 
legion  have  in  our  sight  been  cast  out;  but  the  work  is 
done  by  the  name  of  Jesus.  Many  of  them  are  even 
now  sitting  at  his  feet,  clothed  and  in  their  right  mind. 
There  is  no  healing  for  these  wounds  of  the  body  poli- 
tic except  in  the  gospel  of  Christ,  borne  to  the  hearts 
and  homes  of  the  outcasts  by  the  self-sacrificing  love 
of  them  that  believe. 

None  other  than  He  who  made  the  world  at  first 
can  make  it  new  again.  "Jesus  I  know:  "  this  witness 
is  true,  even  though  the  evil  spirit  utter  it.  Yes,  prince 
of  this  world,  thou  knowest  him  to  be  the  Holy  One  of 
God.  Thou  hast  felt  him  crushing  thy  head  each  time 
that  a  slave  of  sin  has  been  ransomed  and  renewed. 
Thou,  strong  man,  holding  a  human  soul  captive,  bound 
in  the  thongs  of  its  own  lusts,  hast  felt  the  power  of  the 
Stranger,  wrenching  one  by  one  a  multitude  of  victims 
from  thy  grasp.  Thou  knowest,  too,  this  Jesus  in  his 
mercy  to  men;  for  often,  when  thou  hast  set  a  snare  for 
a  believer's  feet  and  made  him  stumble,  and  when  there 
was  a  shout  in  the  camp  of  the  adversary  as  if  one  of 
Christ's  saved  were  lost  again,  thou  hast  been  compelled 
to  relax  thy  hold  and  yield  up  the  backslider  to  the 
Lord  that  bought  him  at  the  first,  and  has  healed  again 
his  backsliding. 

Nor  is  it  only  Jesus  the  Saviour  whom  the  evil  spirits 
know  and  acknowledge;  they  know  in  the  same  way 
the  ministers  whom  he  employs.  "Jesus  I  know,  and 
Paul  I  know."  Christ  has  personally  ascended;  it  is  by 
his  servants,  as  his  instruments,  now  that  he  reaches 
down  to  the  lost  and  saves  them.  The  powers  of  dark- 
ness know  all  who  yield  themselves  instruments  of 
righteousness  unto  God.  In  this  respect  the  servants 
share  the  Master's  lot:  "If  they  have  persecuted  me, 
they  will  also  persecute  you." 

The  first  Atlantic  cable  was  broken  and  lost.  It 
sank  to  the  bottom  where  the  sea  was  several  miles 
deep.  Though  bouys  were  left  at  the  spot,  they  drifted 
away.  Who  shall  now  find  the  spot  in  that  pathless 
ocean  where  the  precious  line  is  lying;  and  who  shall 
bring  it  up,  although  the  place  were  known  } 

They  find  the  spot,  not  by  marks  on  the  sea,  but  by 
the  lights  that  are  fixed  in  heaven.     Hovering  over  it, 


362  TJie   CJmrcJi   in  the  House. 

they  drop  their  grappling-irons,  and  pay  out  line  till 
they  strike  the  ground.  They  feel  in  that  dark  abyss 
— feel  for  the  lost.  By  the  instrument  sent  down  they 
grasp  the  broken  cable  and  haul  it  up.  They  bring  the 
dead  to  life,  and  through  it  thought  throbs  again  in 
pulses  of  unseen  fire  from  shore  to  shore. 

That  lost  line  seems  like  a  human  soul  in  its  sin. 
This  creature  that  God  has  made  for  himself,  and  qual- 
ified to  receive  and  transmit  his  own  Divine  will,  has 
fallen,  has  fallen.  The  prey  seems  secure  in  the  jaws 
of  the  pit.  But  down  in  that  abyss  an  instrument  of 
salvation  touches  the  lost.  The  powers  of  darkness 
who  thought  their  victim  secure,  learned  to  know  both 
the  Living  One  on  high  who  planned  redemption,  and 
the  instrument  which  he  employed  in  his  work.  "  Jesus 
I  know,  and  Paul  I  know." 

Lend  me  your  imagination  for  a  moment,  that  by 
aid  of  it  I  may  go  yet  one  step  further  on  the  line  of 
this  analogy.  Suppose  that  broken,  lost  line  a  conscious 
intelligence,  cut  off  from  all  communion  with  his  kind  in 
that  dark  abyss  despairing.  It  is  dark;  there  is  none 
who  can  reach  him  to  save.  Lost,  for  ever.  Now  im- 
agine that  this  despairing  creature  feels  some  instrument 
touching  him  from  above — touching  him  with  intelli- 
gence, power,  and  love — touching  him  with  intent  to 
save.  Suppose  he  feels  himself  grasped,  and  drawn  up 
— up,  and  ever  up,  through  the  dark  waters.  At  length 
light  begins  to  dawn  overhead,  and  increases  as  he  rises, 
like  the  morning.  At  length  he  emerges  into  the  light 
of  heaven,  is  restored  to  life,  and  enters  the  society  of 
his  kind  again. 

Such  is  the  lost  estate  of  the  sinful;  and  such  the 
redemption  that  Jesus  brings. 


The  tivo  Dimensions, — Breadth  and  Depth.     363 
LXXXIII. 

THE    TIVO  DIMENSIONS— BREADTH  AND  DEPTH 
"  So  mightily  grciv  the  uwrd  of  God  and  prevailed.'''' — Acts  xix.  20. 

Christianity  was  new  in  those  days.  The  dew  of  its 
youth  was  on  it;  the  experience  of  its  disciples  accord- 
ingly was  fresh  and,  tender.  If  their  knowledge  was  less 
extensive  than  ours,  their  life  was  perhaps  more  vigor- 
ous, and  their  love  more  warm.  The  faith  of  those 
ancient  believers  excelled  in  directness  and  simplicity; 
when  it  had  less  of  human  attainment,  it  had  more  of 
Divine  power. 

It  is  better  to  have  a  faith  which  you  cannot  explain, 
than  to  be  able  to  explain  a  faith  which  you  do  not 
enjoy.  Here  is  a  philosopher  who  understands  thor- 
oughly the  circulation  of  the  blood,  but  whose  blood, 
through  lack  of  vital  vigor  in  the  heart,  is  almost 
standing  stagnant  in  his  veins;  and  there  is  a  little 
child,  whose  blood  bounds  through  his  body  like  a 
mountain  stream  at  every  pulse,  but  who  does  not  know 
that  the  blood  is  circulating  in  his  veins.  The  philos- 
opher would  fain  change  places  with  the  child.  Give 
me  at  all  hazards  the  spiritual  life,  and  let  me  add  a 
scientific  theology  if  I  can.  It  is  better  to  believe  in 
Christ  to  the  saving  of  the  soul,  although  you  could 
not  demonstrate  the  nature  and  origin  of  saving  faith, 
than  to  possess  the  power  of  analyzing  faith  so  as  to 
resolve  it  into  its  elements,  while  you  do  not  yourself 
believe  to  the  saving  of  your  soul. 

Faith  in  those  days  seems  to  have  been  simple,  and 
direct,  and  strong,  like  life  in  childhood.  Such  was  the 
experience  of  the  Ethiopian  treasurer.  He  thirsted  for 
tiic  redemption  of  Christ,  as  dry  land  thirsts  for  rain 
from  heaven;  on  his  thirsting  soul  the  water  of  life  was 
poured  from  the  Scriptures  through  Philip's  ministry; 
the  thirsty  traveller  drank  the  living  water,  and  went 
on  his  way  rejoicing. 

The   instrument    which    these    primitive    preachers 


364  The   CJnircJi   in  the  House. 

wielded  was  "the  Word  of  God."  They  had  no  con- 
fidence in  the  enticing  words  of  man's  wisdom.  In 
simple  faith  they  set  forth  Him  who  is  the  Word  of 
life,  and  looked  to  the  spirit  for  the  quickening  power. 
This  method  was  successful.  Great  results  immedi- 
ately appeared. 

The  terms  employed  to  express  these  results  are 
worthy  of  special  attention.  The  Word  "grew  and 
prevailed."  The  work  of  these  missionaries,  like  that 
of  the  husbandman,  has  two  dimensions — breadth  and 
depth.  One  measurement  indicates  the  superficial  ex- 
tent of  the  field,  and  another  the  perpendicular  depth 
fo  the  furrow.  The  gospel,  through  the  preaching  of 
those  ministers,  reached  a  great  multitude,  and  it 
penetrated  the  joints  and  marrow  of  each.  The  Word 
is  said  to  "grow"  when  it  spreads  widely  in  the  world, 
and  to  "prevail"  when  it  makes  all  things  new  in  the 
heart  and  life  of  a  believer. 

The  Word  of  the  Lord  grezv.  The  mustard-seed 
dropped  into  the  ground,  became  a  spreading  tree. 
In  the  hands  of  Paul  and  his  associates,  it  soon  over- 
shadowed the  philosophy  of  Greece,  and  the  arms  of 
Rome. 

For  a  long  period  during  the  Middle  Ages  the  Word 
of  the  Lord  did  not  in  this  sense  grow.  A  very  gen- 
eral corruption  overlaid  and  choked  the  Word  in 
Europe,  and  the  power  of  Mahomet  quenched  its  light 
in  vast  regions  of  the  East.  After  the  Reformation, 
the  Word,  brought  up  from  its  grave  again,  lived  and 
grew  afresh.  In  our  own  day,  it  displays  all  the  energy 
of  its  youth.  Its  way  has  been  better  prepared  in  re- 
cent times,  and  accordingly  it  has  reached  many  regions 
which  the  feet  of  the  apostles  never  trod.  The  Lord 
reigneth.  He  has  remembered  Zion,  and  is  healing 
her  breaches.  He  is  building  up  the  walls  of  his  own 
Jerusalem;  children  are  playing  again  on  her  long- 
desolate  streets.  A  good  time  has  come,  and  a  bet- 
ter time  is  coming.  Those  who  have  lived  during  the 
earlier  half  of  the  present  century  have  seen  great 
things,  and  those  who  live  out  the  latter  half  will  see 
greater. 

The  word  of  the  Lord  prevailed.  It  put  forth  a 
power  which  penetrated  every  obstacle,  and  bore  its 


TJic  tii'o  Dhiii'iisiojis, — Breadth  and  DcptJi.     365 

message  home.  A  thing  wiiich  is  in  its  own  nature 
beneficent  may  be  widely  diffused,  and  yet  fail  to  con- 
fer a  benefit  for  lack  of  power  to  penetrate.  Sunlight 
in  summer  floods  the  polar  regions  in  continuous  day, 
and  j-et  no  grass  grows  green — no  harvest  field  grows 
yellow — under  its  beautiful  beams.  The  light  grcnvs 
there  into  an  immense  diffusion,  but  does  not  prevail 
to  melt  the  ice  and  fructify  the  soil.  Times  have  passed 
over  our  own  beloved  country  in  which  the  gospel  was 
like  the  light  of  a  polar  summer — shining  everywhere, 
but  melting  nowhere.  And  the  same  phenomenon  may 
be  observed  at  present  in  some  districts  of  Europe  that 
are  distinguished  as  Protestant.  Men  may  be  proud 
of  Christianity,  and  yet  ashamed  of  Christ.  Our  lot 
has  fallen  in  more  pleasant  places;  we  have  obtained 
a  better  heritage.  God  has  in  mercy  granted  to  his 
Church  a  little  reviving.  Besides  the  growth  of  the 
Word  in  its  diffusion  over  the  land  and  among  the 
nations,  there  has  been  a  prevailing  of  the  Word  in 
the  conviction  and  the  conversion  of  sinners. 

May  the  kingdom  come  not  in  word  only,  but  also 
in  power.  We  have  precious  seed,  and  there  are  many 
sowers;  it  remains  that  we  give  heed  to  the  ancient 
prophet's  specific  exhortation:  "  Break  up  your  fallow 
ground,  and  sow  not  among  thorns." 

"So  mightily  grew  the  Word  of  God  and  prevailed." 
The  form  of  the  expression  directs  us  to  the  preced- 
ing verses  for  an  enumeration  of  the  effects  actually 
produced  at  that  time  by  the  preaching  of  the  Word. 
I.  "  Fear  fell  on  them  all."  Both  in  the  nature  of  the 
case,  and  in  the  experience  of  the  Church,  this  result 
is  first  in  order.  The  sense  of  need  is  an  essential  pre- 
paration for  the  reception  of  the  remedy.  The  im- 
mediate means  of  producing  fear  are  various.  The 
earthquake  that  shook  the  prison  first  alarmed  the 
jailer;  the  crowing  of  the  cock  was  the  spark  that  fell 
on  Peter's  heart  and  set  it  on  fire.  At  one  time  it  may 
be  some  external  danger,  and  at  another  a  still,  small 
inner  voice;  but  in  all  cases  of  conversion  at  first  or 
reviving  afterwards,  a  fear  springs  in  the  conscience, 
and  constrains  the  convicted  to  flee  for  refuge  to  the 
hope  set  before  him.  That  fear  is  blessed,  which,  like 
the  approach  of  the  wolf,  compels  the  wandering  sheep 


366  The   CJnircJi  in  the  House. 

to  return  to  the  fold.  When  heads  that  heretofore 
were  held  high  in  pride  begin  to  droop  on  sobbing 
breasts;  when  groanings  which  cannot  be  articulately- 
uttered  begin  to  rend  the  frame,  as  the  thaw  of  spring 
rends  the  ice  which  spanned  the  river;  when  the  pent- 
up  agony  of  the  inner  man  gathers  itself  up  at  last  into 
the  cry,  What  must  I  do  to  be  saved  ? — the  fear  is 
blessed,  not  for  its  own  sake  as  a  result,  but  for  what 
it  promises  as  a  symptom. 

2.  "Thenameof  the  Lord  Jesus  wasmagnified."  This 
is  a  sure  mark  of  a  genuine  and  thorough  spiritual  pro- 
gress. It  is  dangerous  when  a  religious  movement 
brings  men's  names  into  great  prominence.  It  is  true 
that  those  who  preach  with  much  success  must  endure 
a  large  measure  of  publicity.  The  city  that  is  set  on  a 
hill  cannot  be  hid.  But  neither  the  successful  preacher 
nor  his  friends  for  him  should  court  this  distinction. 
Human  hearts  are  in  their  own  nature  all  too  liable  to 
spontaneous  combustion;  no  wise  man  will  do  any- 
thing to  fan  the  flame  either  in  his  own  or  his  neigh- 
bor's breast.  The  preacher  who  on  this  occasion  pro- 
claimed the  gospel  with  success,  has  taught  us  by  his 
own  example  to  handle  roughly  this  tendency  to  idol- 
atrous adulation.  "  I  am  of  Paul,"  said  one  large,  very 
evangelical  section  of  Christians  in  a  certain  Church; 
but  this  minister  was  not  pleased  to  see  his  own  name 
placarded  in  too  large  letters  on  the  walls.  I  think  I 
see  him  breaking  forth  like  a  tempest  upon  those  too 
zealous  admirers.  Extending  his  frame,  and  raising 
his  arm,  and  knitting  his  brow,  the  fire  flashing  from 
his  eyes  as  he  spoke,  he  hurled  at  the  obsequious  par- 
tisans the  piercing  challenge, — ''Was  Paul  crucified  for 
you  ?  " 

Convicts  and  converts  should  enter  their  closets  and 
shut  the  doors,  and  forgetting  the  preachers  of  the 
Word,  occupy  themselves  with  the  Christ  whom  they 
preached.  When  the  stars  grow  bright,  it  is  a  proof 
that  the  sun  is  down;  while  the  sun  is  shining,  the 
stars,  though  still  in  their  places,  cannot  be  seen.  Let 
Jesus  be  magnified  and  all  instruments  will  be  lost  in 
his  light. 

3.  "  Many  that  believed  came,  and  showed  their 
deeds,"  etc.     I  assume   that  this  confession  of  sin  to 


The  two  Dimensions, — BreadtJi  and  Depth-    367 

men  was  the  external  accompaniment  of  confession  in 
secret  to  the  Lord.  Confession  of  sin  to  one  another 
is  a  suitable  bod\-;  but  if  be  not  animated  by  the  Hving 
soul  of  confession  to  God,  it  is  nothing  but  a  carcass. 

They  who  believed,  confessed.  They  did  not  con- 
fess until  they  believed.  You  do  not  throw  away  one 
portion  until  you  begin  to  get  hold  of  a  better.  The 
prodigal,  I  suppose,  kept  his  rags  closely  round  his 
person  as  long  as  they  constituted  his  only  covering; 
it  is  when  he  gets  the  fair  robe  from  his  father's  hand 
that  he  casts  the  filthy  garments  passionately  away. 
You  will  never  show  your  own  deeds  and  count  them 
vile  cither  before  God  or  man,  until  you  begin  to  see 
the  way  of  pardon. 

When  Christ  forgives  a  soul,  he  gets  that  soul's  se- 
crets; when  he  gets  a  soul's  secrets,  he  forgives  that 
soul's  sins. 

4.  "They  who  used  curious  arts,  brought  their  books 
and  burned  them."  The  converts  on  this  occasion  were 
of  the  baser  sort.  The  apostle  had  disturbed  a  nest  of 
fortune-tellers  and  sorcerers  that  were  burrowing  under 
the  shadow  of  Diana's  temple,  and  preying  on  the  dis- 
sipated multitudes  of  Ephesus.  Where  the  carcass  is, 
there  will  the  eagles  be  gathered  together.  To  the 
poor  the  gospel  is  preached.  The  Master  received 
sinners;  his  servants  followed  his  steps.  The  most 
damaged  specimens  of  humanity  will  serve  the  Lord's 
purpose  when  they  have  been  renewed  into  his  own 
likeness.  Manufacturers  of  paper  do  not  reject  the 
raw  material  because  it  is  torn  and  filthy.  These 
sorcerers  who  plied  their  disreputable  trade  in  the 
precincts  of  a  heathen  temple,  will  be  beautiful  when 
they  are  new  creatures  in  Christ. 

How  quickly 'the  tree,  when  it  is  made  good,  brings 
forth  its  pleasant  fruit !  They  gave  up  their  trade  and 
their  stock  in  trade  as  soon  as  in  the  light  of  life  they 
saw  it  to  be  sinful.  Their  right  arm  they  resolutely 
cut  off  as  soon  as  they  perceive  that  it  injures  them- 
selves and  dishonors  the  Lord.  Would  that  all  the 
Pharisees  of  the  modern  Church  should,  in  this  respect, 
fjllow  the  footsteps  of  these  publicans  and  sinners  as 
they  entered  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 


368  The  Church  in  the  House, 

LXXXIV. 

THE  UPROAR  IN  E RHESUS. 

'■'■After  these  things  were  ended,  Paul  purposed  iit  the  spirit,  when  ht 
had  passed  through  Macedonia  attd  Achaia,  to  go  to  yerusalem,  saying. 
After  I  have  been  there,  1 7nust  also  see  Rome.  So  he  sent  into  Macedonia 
t2Vo  of  them  that  ministered  unto  him,  Timotheus  and  Erastus;  hut  ht 
himself  stayed  in  Asia  for  a  season.  And  the  same  time  there  arose  no 
small  stir  about  that  way,"  etc. — Acts  xix.  21-41. 

The  sphere  of  the  Christian  Church  is  rapidly  enlarg- 
ing; and  the  ideas  of  the  great  missionary  are  enlarg- 
ing along  with  it.  Ephesus  is  now  a  station  in  the 
middle  of  his  field.  He  proposes  to  make  a  journey 
eastward  to  Jerusalem,  and  afterwards  to  visit  Rome. 
"  I  must  also  see  Rome:  "  yes,  Paul,  this  is  a  necessity 
in  the  plan  of  Providence;  but  thou  knowest  not  yet 
in  what  capacity  thou  shalt  travel  to  the  capital.  What 
thou  knowest  not  now,  thou  shalt  know  hereafter.  Suf- 
ficient unto  the  day  is  the  evil  thereof.  If  we  could 
see  as  far  before  us,  as  by  memory  we  can  see  behind, 
our  courage  would  fail,  and  we  should  faint  by  the 
way.  He  who  leads  us,  sees  his  own  way:  it  is  better 
for  us  to  be  led  blindfold. 

At  this  time  a  great  commotion  occurred  in  Ephe- 
sus, which  the  historian  has  minutely  related.  There 
arose  no  small  stir  about  the  zvay, — that  is,  about  the 
gospel  which  Paul  had  preached.  The  cmeiite  did  not 
spring  directly  from  the  fanaticism  of  the  idolaters;  it 
had  a  baser  origin.  Certain  artificers  of  the  city  had 
been  accustomed  to  carry  on  a  profitable  trade  in  the 
manufacture  of  small  models  in  silver,  both  of  the  tem- 
ple and  the  image  of  the  goddess.  These  men  per- 
ceived that  the  general  acceptance  of  Paul's  doctrine 
would  inevitably  drain  the  sources  of  their  trade.  To 
save  their  own  profits,  therefore,  they  endeavored  to 
crush  or  banish  the  foreign  preachers  by  a  popular 
tumult. 

The  temple  of  Diana  at  Ephesus  held  a  high  place 
among   heathen   shrines.     It   had  a  romantic   history. 


TJie   Uproar  in  Eplicsus.      .        .       369 

It  was  built  on  artificial  foundations  in  a  marsh  below 
the  city,  as  a  security  against  earthquakes.  The  sump- 
tuous edifice  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  356  B.  C.  A  fa- 
natic named  Hesostratus  confessed  that  he  set  it  on 
fire  in  order  to  make  his  own  name  immortal.  It  was 
destroyed  the  same  night  in  which  Alexander  the 
Great  was  born.  It  was  restored  in  still  greater  splen- 
dor; the  dimensions  of  the  new  temple  were  425  feet 
by  220.  It  had  127  columns,  60  feet  in  height.  This 
second  edifice  was  standing  in  all  its  glory  at  the  date 
of  Paul's  visit. 

It  was  consecrated  to  Diana,  one  of  the  twelve 
greater  deities  of  the  Greeks.  She  was  worshipped  as 
a  huntress,  and  also  as  the  moon.  The  month  of  May 
was  sacred  to  her,  and  was  called  Diana's  month.  It 
is  abundantly  obvious  that  a  great  portion  of  Romish 
Mariolatry  was  borrowed  in  a  dark  age  from  the  wor- 
ship of  Diana.  The  appellation  Queen  of  Heaven,  and 
the  designation  of  May  as  Mary's  month,  are  evidently 
old  pagan  rites,  repainted  and  regilded  for  modern  use. 

A  mob  of  interested  artificers,  instigated  and  headed 
by  Demetrius  the  silversmith,  attempted  to  suppress 
by  violence  the  liberty  of  the  gospel  in  Ephesus.  The 
oration  of  this  demagogue  is  in  outline  preserved.  It 
is  an  interesting  antique.  Its  arguments  are  skilfully 
constructed.  They  are  well  fitted  to  gain  the  object 
which  the  speaker  had  in  view.  Not  relying  on  one 
ground,  he  cunningly  groups  two  or  three  reasons  to- 
gether in  order  to  enlist  a  greater  number  on  his  side. 
The  craftsmen  are  reminded  that  the  prevalence  of  the 
gospel  means  loss^of  employment,  and  starvation  for 
themselves  and  their  families:  the  zealous  idolaters  are 
told  that  the  temple  of  the  great  goddess  will  be  de- 
spised: and  the  patriotic  citizens  are  warned  that  with 
the  decadence  of  the  temple,  the  supremacy  which 
Ephesus  enjoyed  among  the  neighboring  provinces 
will  certainly  disappear.  The  prosperity  of  the  city 
depended  on  the  popularity  of  the  Diana-worship. 
The  religious  capital  of  Asia  will  dwindle  into  in- 
significance if  Paul's  doctrine  prevail. 

This  inflammatory  address  v/as  successful.  The 
meeting  was  stirred  into  rage.  Indications  appear 
in  the  narrative  that  the  preachers  were  gaining  ad- 


370  ,      The   Church  in  the  House. 

herents  among  the  cultivated  classes.  The  town-clerk 
^nd  some  of  the  Asiarchs  were,  if  not  positively  be- 
lievers in  Paul's  doctrine,  at  least  favorable  to  free 
discussion. 

After  the  speech  of  Demetrius,  the  multitude  rushed 
tumultuously  into  the  theatre.  Ancient  theatres  were 
entirely  different  in  structure  from  the  edifices  known 
by  the  same  name  in  modern  times  and  more  north- 
erly latitudes.  They  were  immense  structures  shaped 
like  the  hull  of  a  ship,  without  roof,  having  a  level 
space  of  oval  shape  at  the  bottom  for  the  performers, 
and  seats  in  tiers  for  the  spectators. 

Paul's  impulse  was  to  go  into  the  theatre,  and  speak 
in  his  own  defence.  His  friends,  however,  by  a  friendly 
constraint  prevented  him  from  risking  his  life  in  that 
excited  mob. 

A  certain  Jew,  named  Alexander,  was  put  forward 
by  his  countrymen  to  address  the  crowd.  Probably 
he  was  selected  as  spokesman  in  order  to  show  the 
Greek  population  that,  among  Paul's  own  countrymen 
there  were  many  who  did  not  take  his  part.  But  what- 
ever may  have  been  the  policy  of  the  leaders  in  select- 
ing this  man,  it  signally  failed.  The  people  would  not 
listen;  they  hooted  him  down. 

This  was  the  commencement  of  a  violent  uproar. 
For  two  hours  the  living  contents  of  the  vast  amphi- 
theatre heaved  like  the  sea  in  a  storm,  shouting  in 
chorus,  "  Great  is  Diana  of  the  Ephesians."  This  ex- 
traordinary commotion  was  at  length  quelled  by  the 
presence  and  authority  of  the  town-clerk,  a  magistrate 
who,  by  right  of  office,  was  accustomed  to  read  all 
public  documents  in  the  assemblies  of  the  people. 
Yielding  to  habit,  the  assembly  settled  down  into 
quietude  when  this  great  officer  presented  himself. 
His  address  was  sensible  and  moderate.  He  gently 
flattered  the  populace.  Having  soothed  them  into  a 
calmer  spirit,  he  skilfully  insinuated  some  cogent  ar- 
guments against  their  riotous  proceedings.  A  plain 
hint  of  possible  penal  consequences  for  this  outrage  on 
the  liberty  of  peaceable  inhabitants  finally  brought  the 
rioters  to  reason,  and  the  assembly  was  quietly  dis- 
missed. 

Some   incidental    statements  and   allusions  in   the 


The    Uproar  in  Rplicsus.  371 

speech  of  the  town-clerk  are  worthy  of  attention  here. 
A  prevaiHng  tradition  that  the  rude  little  wooden 
image  preserved  in  a  particular  shrine  of  the  temple, 
had  originally  fallen  down  from  Jupiter  (or  the  sky,  for 
the  same  word  has  both  meanings),  he  skilfully  as- 
sumes as  an  acknowledged  fact;  although  it  is  very 
doubtful  whether  this  trained  official  had  faith  in  it. 
It  is  a  general  rule  in  all  forms  of  idolatry,  that  those 
idols  are  most  reverenced  that  are  covered  with  the 
rust  of  antiquity,  and  encircled  with  miraculous  le- 
gends. This  seems  inconsistent  with  the  apology  usu- 
ally given  by  Romish  controversialists  for  the  venera- 
tion of  images.  They  are  accustomed  to  represent 
that  the  devotees  do  not  worship  the  image  before 
which  they  kneel;  but  employ  it  as  a  help  to  raise 
their  conceptions  to  the  being  whom  the  image  repre- 
sents. If  that  were  true,  the  best  executed  likeness 
would  be  most  effective  in  aiding  the  spirit  of  devo- 
tion. But  practically  this  is  not  the  case.  The  most 
ungainly  and  repulsive  representations  which  enjoy  a 
reputation  for  sanctity,  are  frequented  in  preference  to 
the  most  perfect  results  of  the  sculptor's  art.  The 
worshipper  is  moved  by  a  conception  that  there  is 
something  sacred  in  the  image  itself.  This  is  the  na- 
ture and  the  fruit  of  all  idolatry.  If  we  disregard  the 
letter  of  the  law,  we  shall  inevitably  transgress  its 
spirit:  "  Thou  shalt  not  bow  down  thyself  to  them." 

"These  men,"  continues  the  town-clerk,  "are  neither 
robbers  of  churches,  nor  blasphemers  of  your  goddess." 
It  would  appear  from  this  that  Paul  had  proceeded  at 
Ephesus  with  the  same  caution  which  he  had  displayed 
at  Athens.  He  effectually  undermined  all  idolatry  by 
preaching  Christ;  but  he  did  not  fly  in  the  face  of  what 
his  audience  considered  sacred.  His  argument  was  al- 
ways grave  and  considerate.  He  would  not  needlessly 
trample  on  the  prejudices  of  the  heathen. 

We  obtain  here  a  glimpse  of  the  regular  method  in 
which  the  law  was  administered  in  the  Roman  Empire. 
The  town-clerk  was  able  to  say  in  the  public  assembly 
that  the  Courts  of  Justice  were  open,  and  that  every 
citizen  who  had  a  grievance  was  at  liberty  to  bring  his 
case  in  a  regular  way  before  the  judge.  The  Roman 
power  allowed  a  large  measure  of  spontaneous  action 


372  TJic   CJnirch  in  the  House. 

to  the  municipalities  of  conquered  provinces  in  the 
regulation  of  internal  affairs;  but  they  would  not  tole- 
rate tumults  that  endangered  the  public  peace.  Thus 
the  apostles  were  again  delivered  by  the  legitimate 
action  of  a  regular  government.  The  powers  that  be 
are  ordained  of  God.  The  shields  of  the  earth  are  his; 
and  he  knows  how  to  throw  now  one  and  now  another 
around  his  servants  to  preserve  their  lives  for  subse- 
quent usefulness.  He  sits  King  on  all  these  floods; 
and  will  make  the  tumults  of  the  people  turn  out  for 
the  furtherance  of  the  gospel. 


LXXXV. 

A    COMMUNION-  SABBATH  AT    TROAS. 

'■'■And  after  the  uproar  ^oas  ceased,  Paul  called  unto  him  the  disciples, 
and  embraced  them,  and  departed  for  to  go  into  l\Iacedonia.  And  ivhen 
he  had  gone  over  those  parts,  and  had  given  them  7nuch  exhortation,  he 
came  into  Greece,^'  etc. — Acts  xx.  1-12. 

"Discretion  is  the  better  part  of  valor."  Although 
that  proverb  is  often  tauntingly  employed  in  a  sinister 
sense,  it  contains  and  conveys  a  precious  practical  truth. 
Valor  is  often  crippled  and  deprived  of  its  result  for  want 
of  its  "better  part."  A  man  who  has  courage  without 
prudence  is  apt  to  throw  away  his  life. 

Paul  was  as  remarkable  for  his  caution  as  for  his 
courage.  When  duty  calls  and  a  grand  object  may  be 
gained,  he  will  not  count  his  life  dear  unto  himself; 
but  he  will  count  his  life  very  dear  both  to  the  Lord 
and  the  Church  if  he  can  preserve  it  from  needless 
danger,  and  so  retain  it  for  future  use.  This  is  the 
distinction  between  a  hero  and  a  fanatic.  A  true  hero 
will  preserve  his  life  as  far  as  he  can  with  honor,  and 
will  never  give  it  away  cheap. 

Ordinary  opposition  from  Jews  or  Gentiles  the  apos- 
tle scarcely  regrets.  Ke  would  rather  have  waters 
stirred  by  such  a  breeze  than  waters  stagnant,  for  his 
great  operation  as  a  fisher  of  men.     Accordingly  ;ve 


A    ConDiiiiuion   Sabbath  at    Troas.  373 

learn  that  "  the  man)-  adversaries  "  are  reckoned  among 
the  grounds  of  encouragement  to  continue  his  work  in 
this  city.  But  when  such  a  serious  tumult  occurs  as 
that  which  has  just  been  quelled  by  the  address  of  the 
town-clerk,  he  considers  that  he  will  better  serve  the 
great  cause  by  bending  to  the  blast  than  by  braving  it. 
He  will  not,  by  mere  bravado,  make  the  place  too  hot 
for  the  Christians  afterwards.  It  will  be  expedient  to 
retire  in  the  mean  time,  and  allow  the  troubled  sea  to 
subside. 

Besides,  his  work  was  done  in  Ephesus.  He  had 
spent  eighteen  months  almost  constantly  there.  The 
seed  of  the  Word  had  taken  root.  The  tumult  was 
the  evidence  and  the  measure  of  his  success.  New 
work  awaits  him  in  another  place.  This  missionary 
must  arise  and  run  his  race. 

He  determines  to  revisit  Macedonia,  but  first  there 
must  be  a  farewell  meeting  with  the  Christians  of 
Ephesus.  "  He  caJled  the  disciples."  How  the  meet- 
ing was  summoned  we  do  not  know,  but  we  know  from 
all  history  that  amazing  pawers  of  intercommunication 
exist  among  a  persecuted  people.  Sufferers  are  invent- 
ive in  the  matter  of  signalling  to  their  friends.  It  has 
often  puzzled  tyrants  to  comprehend  how  their  victims 
obtain  information.  It  appears  sometimes  as  if  the 
ground  were  a  network  of  telegraphs,  transmitting  from 
the  dungeon  the  groans  of  the  prisoners.  By  some 
word  that  passed  surely  and  quickly  through  the  circle 
of  disciples,  all  the  faithful  in  the  city  were  convened. 
There  is  no  report  of  Paul's  parting  address,  but  it  is 
certain  he  would  not  omit  so  good  an  opportunity  of 
exhorting  that  infant  Church  in  the  heart  of  a  heathen 
metropolis.  Some  burning  words  would  drop  from  his 
lips  as  he  embraced  them,  one  by  one,  and  commended 
them  to  the  grace  of  God.  These  tender  partings  are 
profitable  though  painful.  They  drive  home  some  pre- 
cious lessons  that  were  lying  on  the  surface  and  liable 
to  be  rubbed  off 

On  leaving  Ephesus  it  was  his  design  to  go  to  Mace- 
donia, but  there  was  a  long  delay  ere  he  reached  it. 
The  history  here  is  a  very  meagre  outline.  Materials 
exist  in  the  Epistles  for  filling  up  the  blank,  but  it  will 
not    be   expedient  here    to   gather    up   the    scattered 


374  T^J^^   CJiurcJi  in  the  House. 

threads.  Let  it  suffice  to  mention  merely  the  succes- 
sive stages  without  writing  down  the  various  references. 

From  Ephesus  he  went  to  Troas,  on  the  western 
coast  of  Asia  Minor.  He  meant  to  remain  and  estab- 
lish a  Church  there;  for  when  he  was  at  that  place  be- 
fore, he  was  hastening  over  in  answer  to  the  call  from 
Macedonia,  and  could  not  begin  any  mission  work. 
Titus  had  been  despatched  to  Corinth,  bearer  of  the 
epistle  to  the  Church  of  that  city,  and  Paul  expected 
his  messenger  to  meet  him  at  Troas  with  news  from 
the  congregation  at  Corinth.  He  longed  to  learn  how 
the  letter  had  been  received,  and  what  effects  it  had 
produced.  We  may  assume  that  while  he  tarried  at 
Troas  he  watched  eagerly  every  ship  that  arrived,  to 
learn  if  Titus  were  on  board.  Months  passed,  and  no 
appearance  of  Titus.  Hope  deferred  made  the  heart 
sick.  He  had  no  rest,  because  the  care  of  the  Corinth- 
ian Church,  with  its  contentions  and  schisms,  lay  like 
a  millstone  on  his  heart.  But  though  sorrowful,  he 
was  not  idle.  He  preached  in  Troas.  He  found  an 
open  door;  he  planted  a  Church. 

At  length,  unable  to  wait  longer,  he  crossed  the  sea 
to  Macedonia  without  having  obtained  news  from  Cor- 
inth. Among  the  converts  at  Philippi  he  was  at  home 
again.  While  he  was  enjoying  there  the  society  of  his 
friends,  Titus  at  last  joined  him,  bringing  good  news 
from  Corinth.  His  letter  had  been  received  with  great- 
er favor  than  he  expected.  The  divisions  were  healed, 
and  prosperity  restored.  The  converts  acknowledged 
t'le  great  apostle's  authority,  and  submitted  themselves 
to  his  reproof  This  good  news  from  a  far  country  was  as 
cold  waters  to  his  thirsty  soul.  "  When  we  were  come  into 
Macedonia  our  flesh  had  no  rest,  but  we  were  troubled 
on  every  side;  without  were  fightings,  within  were  fears. 
Nevertheless  God,  that  comforteth  them  that  are  cast 
down,  comforted  us  by  the  coming  of  Titus;  and  not 
by  his  coming  only,  but  by  the  consolation  wherewith 
he  was  comforted  in  you,  when  he  told  us  your  earnest 
desire,  your  mourning,  your  fervent  mind  toward  me  ; 
so  that  I  rejoiced  the  more"  (2  Cor.  vii.  5-7). 

At  last  Paul,  leaving  Macedonia,  came  himself  into 
Greece.  Although  it  is  the  country  only  that  is  men- 
tioned, it  was  doubtless  chiefly  at  Corinth  that  he  spent 


A    ConinuDiioti    Sabbatli   at    Troas.  375 

his  time.  He  remained  about  three  months.  When 
his  work  was  accomplished  there,  he  desired  to  go  by 
sea  from  Corinth  to  the  East;  but  having  discovered  a 
l)lot  laid  by  the  Jews  to  assassinate  him,  he  changed 
his  plan,  and  travelled  northward  once  more  into 
Macedonia. 

Seven  men,  whose  names  and  nations  are  recorded, 
accompanied  Paul  on  the  journey  as  delegates  from  the 
Christians  of  various  provinces,  to  present  the  contri- 
butions of  the  West  to  the  impoverished  disciples  in 
Jud;L-a.  This  deputation  was  appointed,  not  merely  as 
bearers  of  the  gift,  but  mainly  to  express  to  the  Church 
in  Jerusalem  the  sympathy  of  Gentile  believers,  if  so  be 
the  two  constituents  of  the  Church  might  be  run  into 
one  by  offices  of  love,  and  all  jealousies  between  Jews 
and  Greeks  be  nipped  in  the  bud.  We  know  that  Paul 
experienced  a  great  desire  to  be  at  Jerusalem  by  the 
Pentecost,  which  occurred  seven  weeks  after  his  de- 
parture from  Macedonia.  He  was  bringing  with  him, 
in  these  seven  delegates,  the  first-fruits  of  the  Gentiles, 
a  pledge  aud  foretaste  of  an  abundant  harvest.  At  one 
Pentecost  the  Word  as  a  seed  had  gone  forth  from  Je- 
rusalem, and  at  another  Pentecost  the  fruit  that  sprang 
from  that  seed  shall  be  brought  back.  The  sower  who 
had  gone  forth  weeping,  bearing  precious  seed,  will  re- 
turn rejoicing,  bringing  his  sheaves  with  him. 

The  seven  delegates  crossed  the  sea  to  Troas,  while 
Paul  and  Luke  remained  for  a  time  at  Philippi,  prob- 
ably induced  by  urgent  entreaties  of  the  Christians 
that  he  should  minister  to  them  at  the  approaching 
passover.  The  ship  in  which  Paul  and  Luke  at  last 
took  passage  must  have  been  detained  by  rough  weather 
or  other  causes  to  us  unknown,  as  the  voyage  occupied 
five  days.  Having  rejoined  their  comrades  at  Troas, 
they  remained  there  another  week.  There  is  here  a 
clear  trace  of  Sabbath  observance,  and  that  on  the 
first  day  of  the  week.  They  landed  on  a  Monday,  the 
second  day  of  the  week,  and  left  on  a  Monday.  The  dis- 
ciples in  Troas  assembled  for  public  worship  and  the 
communion  on  the  first  day  of  the  week.  Paul  preached 
the  evening  sermon,  and  proceeded  on  his  journey  next 
day.  Although  he  was  hastening  eastward,  he  must 
remain   in   Troas   no  less  than    seven   days,   because, 


3/6  TJie   Church  in   the  House. 

through  the  disappointing  length  of  the  voyage,  he 
did  not  arrive  till  the  Lord's-day  was  past.  This  con- 
secration of  the  first  day  was  neither  Jewish  nor  pagan; 
it  was  distinctively  Christian.  It  is  interesting  to  meet 
with  the  institution  of  the  Christian  Sabbath  very 
clearly  marked  in  that  early  age.  From  that  day  to 
this  all  Christians  have  agreed  to  make  the  day  of  the 
Lord's  resurrection  a  day  of  rest  from  common  labor 
— a  space  cleared  for  communion  between  the  mem- 
bers and  their  exalted  Head. 

The  case  of  the  young  man  who,  having  fallen 
asleep,  fell  from  a  great  height,  seems  to  be  introduced 
into  the  narrative  mainly  for  the  purpose  of  showing 
the  mighty  power  of  God  in  his  restoration.  But  it 
reveals  incidentally  an  interesting  fact,  that  the  even- 
ing sermon  on  that  communion  Sabbath  was  prolonged 
till  midnight.  After  the  assembly  was  dismissed  the 
preacher  needed  and  obtained  refreshing  food,  and 
held  protracted  conversations  with  inquirers.  In  this 
occupation  the  night  was  spent,  and  the  earnest  groups 
were  surprised  by  the  break  of  day.  Paul  and  his  com- 
panions resumed  their  journey  with  the  daylight,  with- 
out having  retired  to  rest  at  all. 

This  incident  does  not  prove  that  the  preaching 
of  the  gospel  in  the  public  assembly  should  ordinarily 
be  prolonged  far  into  the  night;  but  it  proves  that, 
on  great  occasions,  when  the  people  are  in  earnest, 
and  especially  if  the  preacher  is  about  to  leave  the 
country  with  little  prospect  of  returning,  if  the  preach- 
ing be  prolonged  far  into  the  night,  nothing  harmful 
or  unreasonable  has  been  done.  For  such  an  object 
a  night's  rest  might  well  be  given  away. 

In  modern  fashionable  society,  great  companies  of 
young  and  old  not  unfrequently  protract  their  amuse- 
ments till  the  unwelcome  sunlight  expose  too  faith- 
fully their  faded  finery;  and  yet  some  of  these  very 
persons  would  be  the  first  to  cry  out  in  most  virtuous 
displeasure  against  late  religious  meetings  in  a  reviv- 
ing time.  It  is  not  difficult  to  thread  our  way  through 
these  labyrinths.  The  right  way  may  be  found  and 
followed.  The  rule  is  plain,  written  clearly  by  the 
finger  of  God  on  earth  and  sky:  the  day  for  useful 
labor,  and   the   silent  night  for  rest.     But  great  car- 


Paul's  Adch't'ss  to  the  Elders  of  liphesus.      377 

dinal  points  occur  here  and  there  in  the  Hfe  of  men 
which  invite  and  justify  occasional  exceptions.  To 
hear  the  word  of  life  from  the  lips  of  an  inspired 
apostle  when  you  do  not  expect  to  hear  his  voice 
again,  is  one  of  these  points;  and  to  watch  by  the 
sick-bed  of  a  brother,  who  needs  your  help,  is  another. 
But  so  clear  is  the  law  assigning  the  night  for  rest, 
that  a  great  solid  ground  is  required  to  sustain  an  ex- 
ception. Such  a  ground  occurred  at  Troas  when  Paul 
preached.  Blessed,  busy  night  for  the  Christians  of 
that  place:  they  would  be  more  refreshed  by  it  than 
by  the  sweetest  slumbers. 


LXXXVI. 

PAUVS  ADDRESS    TO   THE  ELDERS  OF  EPHESUS. 

"  And  ivi:  lucnt  before  to  ship,  and  sailed  tinto  Assos,  i/iere  in/ending 
*o  take  in  Paul:  for  so  had  he  appointed,  minding  himself  to  go  afoot. 
And  when  he  met  with  us  at  Assos,  we  tool;  him  in,  and  came  to  Mity- 
lene,"  etc. — Acts  xx.  13-30. 

In  sailing  from  Troas  to  Assos  a  ship  must  go  round 
a  projecting  tongue  of  land,  and  a  passenger  may  cross 
the  neck  of  the  peninsula  and  reach  the  port  on  its 
southern  side  before  the  ship  has  made  the  circuit.  Paul 
alone  preferred  the  short  land  journey;  all  the  rest  sailed 
round  the  headland.  The  details  of  the  voyage,  though 
interesting  in  many  aspects,  are  not  necessary  for  our 
purpose:  we  pass  them  accordingly,  and  meet  the  party 
at  Miletus,  the  harbor  at  which  they  would  disembark, 
if  they  meant  to  go  to  Ephesus.  Paul  had  made  up 
his  mind  not  to  visit  Ephesus  at  this  time,  not  because 
he  loved  it  less,  but  because  he  loved  it  more.  He 
can  afford  to  go  on  shore  at  Miletus,  for  that  place  had 
not  power  to  detain  him,  when  he  was  bent  on  another 
object;  but  knowing  himself  and  his  friends,  he  has  a 
presentiment  that  if  he  go  up  to  the  city  to  visit  them, 
farewell  to  his  prospect  of  being  in  Jerusalem  at  Pen- 
tecost.    Because  his  love  of  the  disciples  at  Ephesus 


378  TJic   C/nirch  in   the  House. 

was  very  great,  therefore  on  this  occasion  he  did  not 
venture  to  intrust  himself  among  them.  Having  landed 
at  Miletus,  he  sent  a  message  to  the  elders,  requesting 
them  to  meet  him  on  the  sea-shore.  The  distance  was 
about  thirty  miles.  These  same  men  who  are  here 
called  elders  are  addressed  (ver.  28)  as  bishops.*  And 
so  it  is  placed  beyond  controversy  that  at  that  early 
date  a  number  of  grave  and  good  men,  named  indiffer- 
ently elders  or  bishops,  were  conjoined,  in  the  over- 
sight of  the  disciples  resident  in  one  city.  , 

The  address  which  Paul  delivered  to  the  Ephesian 
elders  at  Miletus  is  recorded  at  considerable  length. 
It  is  a  precious  and  pregnant  document.  It  is  a  rich 
legacy  to  the  Church  in  all  ages  and  all  lands.  It  does 
not  accord  with  our  plan,  however,  to  expound  and  ap- 
ply this  discourse  with  a  fulness  proportionate  to  its 
intrinsic  worth.  Precisely  because  of  its  exceeding 
richness,  we  must  leave  the  greater  part  of  it  untouched; 
for  even  a  moderately  full  exposition  of  thi's  chapter 
Avould  occupy  all  the  space  that  can  be  allotted  to 
this  series.  A  few  detached  expository  and  practical 
notes  on  some  of  its  leading  topics  must  for  the  pres- 
ent suffice. 

After  some  very  tender  allusions  to  Jerusalem,  and 
the  uncertainty  of  the  reception  that  awaited  him  there, 
he  proceeds  (v.  25)  to  deal  very  solemnly  and  faithfully 
with  the  bishops  of  Ephesus  regarding  the  edification 
of  themselves  and  their  flock.  Personal  affections  are 
freely  employed  whenever  they  can  be  of  use.  He 
would  hardly  be  justified  in  wounding  their  loving 
hearts  by  express  allusion  to  the  fact  that  this  was  the 

*  Controversial  matters  are  in  these  expositions  sedulously  avoided,  but 
this  point  is  not  now  properly  a  matter  of  controversy.  The  most  leai'ned 
and  eminent  critics  of  the  episcopal  communion  acknowledge  frankly  that 
the  term  translated  "overseers,"  should  have  been  rendered  bishops,  as  it 
is  in  all  other  places  where  it  occurs. 

It  may  be  satisfactory  to  some  of  our  readers  to  see  the  late  Dean  Al- 
ford's  note  on  this  subject.  "So  early  did  interested  and  disingenuous  in- 
terpretations begin  to  cloud  the  light  which  Scripture  might  have  thrown  on 
ecclesiastical  questions.  The  English  version  has  hardly  dealt  fairly  in  this 
case  with  the  sacred  text  in  rendering  S7ti6K07tovi  (v.  28)  overseers,  where- 
as it  ought  there,  as  in  all  other  places,  to  have  been  'bishops,'  that  the  fact 
of  elders  having  been  originally  and  apostolically  synonymous  might  be  ap- 
parent to  the  ordinary  English  reader,  which  now  it  is  not." — Alford  on 
Acts  XX.  28. 


Pau/'s  Address  to  tJtc  Riders  of  EpJiesiis.      379 

last  interview,  if  the  i^rief  could  not  be  made  conduciv^e 
to  his  great  aim.  But  he  desires  to  print  a  great  reso- 
lution deep  on  their  hearts,  and  thinks  it  needful  to 
get  these  hearts  first  of  all  melted.  He  softens  the 
material  by  the  flame  of  a  great  brotherly  love,  ami 
then  applies  his  prepared  seal.  Sometimes  the  depart- 
ure of  a  faithful  minister  from  an  affectionate  flock  lias 
produced  a  greater  amount  of  good  than  his  sojourn 
among  them.  Those  who  slumbered  while  the  mill 
was  going,  ma}^  be  awakened  by  the  silence  when  the 
mill  is  stopped. 

He  takes  them  to  witness  that,  in  his  comparatively 
lengthened  ministry  at  Ephesus,  he  had  so  fully  de- 
clared the  gospel,  that  he  remained  "pure  from  the 
blood  of  all  men."  The  form  of  expression  is  striking 
and  memorable.  It  is  borrowed  from  the  crime  of 
murder,  and  the  method  by  which  guilt  is  ordinarily 
brought  home  to  the  criminal.  In  many  cases  convic- 
tion depends  on  blood  being  found  on  the  clothes  of 
the  murderer.  Hence  in  almost  all  cases  of  violence 
we  hear  of  desperate  efforts  being  made  by  the  terrified 
evil-doer  to  efface  the  stain.  These  efforts,  and  the 
testimony  connected  with  them,  bulk  largely  in  crimi- 
nal trials. 

This  is  the  conception  that  leaps  into  the  apostle's 
mind.  He  cannot  hope  that  all  who  have  heard  the 
gospel  from  his  lips  in  the  city  are  now  in  Christ.  He 
fears  that  some  of  them  may  be  still  under  condemna- 
tion. If  they  die  in  their  sins,  how  unspeakable  the 
loss — the  loss  of  a  soul  !  He  shudders  at  the  thought: 
and  in  order  to  quicken  their  diligence  when  they  should 
return  to  their  labor,  he  endeavors  to  impart  some  of 
his  own  anxiety  to  the  ciders.  He  in  effect  invites 
them  to  look  to  their  hands  and  garments  to  make  sure 
that  there  is  no  blood  on  them. 

The  double  application  of  his  warning,  "Take  heed," 
presents  very  vividly  some  great  lessons.  The  logic 
and  the  theology  of  the  sentence  are  equally  good. 
The  first  care  of  the  spiritual  shepherd  is  for  himself; 
the  next  for  the  flock.  In  some  parts  they  paint  gar- 
den walls  blade,  that  they  may  absorb  more  of  the 
sun's  heat  and  so  impart  more  warmth  to  the  fruit- 
trees  that  lean  on  them.     Those  who  in  any  sphere 


380  TJie   CJnirch  in  the  House.  - 

care  for  souls,  stand  in  the  position  of  the  garden  wall. 
The  more  that  the  teacher  absorbs  for  himself  of  Christ's 
love,  the  more  benefit  will  others  obtain  from  him.  It 
is  not  the  wall  which  glitters  most  in  the  sunshine  that 
does  most  for  the  trees  that  are  trained  against  it.  It 
is  the  wall  which  is  least  seen  that  takes  in  most  heat 
for  itself;  and  the  wall  that  has  most  heat  in  itself  gives 
out  most  for  the  benefit  of  the  trees.  So  it  is  not  the 
preacher  who  flashes  out  into  the  greatest  flame  himself 
that  im.parts  most  benefit  to  inquirers  who  sit  at  his 
feet.  Those  who  drink  in  most  of  the  Master's  spirit 
are  most  useful  in  the  world.  Those  who  first  take 
heed  to  themselves  will  be  most  effective  in  caring  for 
the  spiritual  weal  of  those  who  look  up  to  them. 

The  Church  of  God,  considered  as  a  flock,  has  been 
purchased  by  his  own  blood.  The  term  purchased 
points  to  a  possession  obtained  by  a  price.  Israel  in 
the  typical  dispensation  were  acquired  as  the  Lord's 
portion  at  the  Exodus  by  the  blood  of  a  lamb;  but  the 
true  Israel  of  the  New  Testament  by  his  own  blood. 
The  price  paid  for  them  enhances  their  value.  The 
greater  the  sum  that  any  possession  costs,  the  greater 
care  is  bestowed  upon  it.  How  can  the  under  shepherd 
lightly  esteem  the  flock,  which  the  Chief  Shepherd 
bought  with  his  blood  !  This  is  the  strongest  motive 
which  Paul  could  think  of  to  draw  forth  the  assiduity 
and  faithfulness  of  pastors. 

As  an  additional  ground  by  which  to  enforce  his  in- 
junctions to  earnestness,  he  intimates  that  after  his 
"departure"  grievous  wolves  will  enter  the  fold.  The 
word  departure  is  ambiguous.  It  may  mean  simply 
the  speaker's  departure  from  Asia  on  his  voyage  to 
Jerusalem,  or  it  may  mean  his  departure  from  this  life. 
I  think  Paul  employed  the  term  precisely  because  it 
was  ambiguous.  He  secretly  thought  of  the  ravages 
which  would  be  committed  among  the  Ephesian  Chris- 
tians after  his  own  death;  but  he  expressed  it  softly, 
that  they  might  in  the  first  instance  think  of  his  leav- 
ing them  for  that  time.  But  the  word  would  return 
with  new  power  to  their  memory,  when  the  news 
reached  Ephesus  of  the  apostle's  martyrdom. 

In  such  cases  this  great  missionary  always  felt  him- 
self in  a  strait  betwixt  two.     In  prospect  of  heresies  and 


'  TJic  Larger  Blessing,  and  tJie  Less.  381 

immoralities  rending  and  defiling  the  Churches,  he  de- 
sired to  abide  in  the  flesh,  that  he  might  help  the  fee- 
ble; but  for  himself  the  prospect  of  departure  was  sweet, 
for  it  would  bring  him  straight  to  Christ. 

The  "grievous  wolves"  here  point  not  to  persecu- 
tion from  without,  but  corruption  within.  The  con- 
ception must  -be  framed  in  consonance  with  the  par- 
allel,— wolves  in  sheep's  clothing.  They  enter  in;  and 
when  they  are  in  they  destroy.  They  are  admitted  as 
friends;  and  by  being  inside  have  more  power  to  do 
mischief. 

These  warnings  are  not  of  private  interpretation. 
They  are  written  for  our  admonition  in  this  end  of  the 
world.  The  flock  in  our  day  is  exposed  to  the  same 
dangers.  The  presence  of  false  teachers  within  the 
fold  of  a  Protestant  Church  is  the  gravest  fact  of  the 
day  for  all  intelligent  and  true-hearted  disciples  of 
Christ.  Prayers  and  pains  must  go  together.  We 
must  cry  mightily  unto  God,  and  strive  mightily  with 
men.  "The  Lamb  shall  overcome  them;  for  he  is 
King  of  kings,  and  Lord  of  lords:  and  they  that  are 
with  him  are  called,  and  chosen,  and  faithful"  (Rev. 
xvii.  14). 


LXXXVIL 

THE  LARGER  BLESSING,   AND   THE  LESS. 

"  I  have  showed  yon  all  things,  ho~u  that  so  laboring  ye  ought  to  support 
the  weak,  and  to  remember  the  words  of  the  Lord  j^esus,  how  he  said,  /t 
is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to  receive.'^ — ACTS  XX.  35. 

This  "word  of  the  Lord  Jesus,"  like  the  great  apostle 
who  has  reported  it,  is  one  "  born  out  of  due  time." 
It  found  no  place  in  the  evangelic  histories:  it  lay  si- 
lent in  loving  hearts,  or  flowed  in  whispers  from  loving 
lips  when  the  disciples  met  after  their  Master  had  de- 
parted, until,  spoken  by  Paul  on  the  sea-shore  to  the 
weeping  elders  of  Ephesus  it  was  recorded  by  Luke, 
his  companion,  for  the  use  of  the  Church  in  all  coming 


382  The  CJmrch  in  the  House. 

time.  In  another  aspect  this  word  is  like  the  man  who 
quoted  it  at  Miletus; — if  it,  among  the  words  of  Christ, 
like  Paul  among  his  apostles,  was  late  in  coming,  it  is, 
like  him,  not  a  whit  behind  the  chief  of  them  in  pre- 
ciousness  and  power,  now  that  it  has  come. 

Luke  reports  the  speech  of  Paul,  and  Paul's  speech 
holds  in  its  bosom  a  priceless  fragment  of  the  Redeem- 
er's word.  It  is  as  when  a  seaman  in  a  shipwreck  has 
seized  in  his  strong  arms  a  servant  of  the  family  as  she 
was  sinking;  and  when  she  is  raised,  the  spectators 
discover  that  she  holds  the  infant  son  of  the  family 
living  in  her  arms. 

Here  then  we  have  a  word  of  Christ  rescued  from 
sinking  into  oblivion — a  word  of  Christ  with  a  word  of 
Paul  wrapped  round  it;  the  jewel  and  its  setting — the 
kernel  and  its  shell  are  both  here. 

"  It  is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to  receive:"  these 
words  were  indeed  employed  by  Paul  as  a  practical 
maxim  to  stimulate  and  direct  the  Christians  at  Ephe- 
sus  in  their  charitable  contributions;  but  if  you  limit 
your  view  to  that  specific  application,  you  will  miss  the 
deepest  of  their  meaning.  An  untaught  barbarian,  or 
an  undeveloped  child,  sees  in  the  stars  some  small 
twinkling  lights  set  in  the  blue  canopy  higher  than 
the  clouds  that  flit  across  its  face;  but  you  know  more 
of  their  grandeur  and  of  their  Maker's  might  when  you 
look  upon  them  as  central  suns,  with  subject  systems 
of  their  own,  while  they  also  act  as  lights  to  the  dark- 
ened hemisphere  of  our  earth.  As  the  difference  be- 
tween the  intrinsic  greatness  of  the  fixed  stars,  and 
their  incidental  usefulness  to  this  world  at  night,  is 
the  difference  between  these  words  in  their  origin  as 
the  declared  experience  of  God  our  Saviour,  and  these 
words  in  their  application  as  a  stimulant  to  liberality 
in  Christian  contributions.  We  must  consider  these 
words  in  the  depth  of  their  Divine  fountain,  and  not 
confine  our  view  to  the  particular  stream  that  happens 
to  flow  from  them  here.  Before  we  speak  of  the  object 
to  which  the  maxim  is  here  applied,  we  must  reverent- 
ly look  to  the  source  whence  it  was  taken. 

When  our  Redeemer  said,  "  It  is  more  blessed  to 
give  than  to  receive,"  he  expressed  his  own  expei'ience. 
This  word  of  Christ  is  beyond  conception  precious,  es- 


The  Larger  Blessing,  and  the  Less.  383 

pccially  to  "  the  meek  and  poor  afflicted  ones"  among 
liis  disciples.  When,  conscious  of  our  own  unworthi- 
ness,  and  especially  of  our  backsliding,  we  tremble 
even  before  a  throne  of  grace,  it  is  sweet  to  learn  that 
the  Giver  of  pardon  takes  pleasure  in  giving.  He  who 
loves  a  cheerful  giver,  is  a  cheerful  Giver.  A  penitent 
may  encourage  his  soul  to  come  near  in  confidence, 
not  only  with  the  argument  which  the  spectators  ad- 
dressed to  the  blind  man  at  Jericho,  "Be  of  good  com- 
fort, rise;  he  calleth  thee,"  but  with  the  much  stronger 
reason, — the  cure  of  the  disease  will  impart  greater  joy 
to  the  Physician  than  to  the  patient.  This  word  of 
Christ,  rightly  accepted,  is  enough  to  drive  away  all 
the  dread  of  fearful  souls,  as  wind  drives  smoke 
away. 

Forms  of  amazing  elegance  and  beauty  may  be 
thrown  off  in  millions  by  the  hands  of  common  work- 
men; but  the  one  type  whence  all  the  specimens  have 
derived  their  shape  grew  slowly,  like  the  germs  of  life 
in  the  secret  of  a  greater  soul.  So,  off  the  experience 
of  Emanuel  in  his  work  of  Redemption,  from  its  begin- 
ning in  the  eternal  purpose  till  its  finishing  in  the  ful- 
ness of  time,  was  this  maxim  taken,  which  Paul  found 
useful  to  stimulate  the  liberality  of  the  Ephesians, — 
which  \\Q  find  useful  to  stimulate  liberality  amongst 
ourselves  to-day.  The  love  wherewith  Christ  loved 
us  is  the  mould  on  which  the  practical  rule  was  cast. 
Unless  he  had  lived  in  the  world,  the  world  would 
never  have  possessed  such  a  rule  for  the  regulation  of 
its  course.  This  principle  is  not  of  the  earth.  It  bears 
the  mark  of  another  origin.  It  at  once  reveals  the 
character  of  its  author,  and  gives  shape  to  the  aspira- 
tions of  his  followers.  It  is  a  print  of  his  footsteps, 
marked  by  the  Spirit  in  the  word,  to  direct  the  way  of 
his  people  through  all  time. 

This  feature  belongs  indeed  to  the  lessons  of 
every  true  teacher  who  undertakes  to  mould  into 
better  forms  the  spirit  and  conduct  of  his  neighbors. 
All  apostles  who  have  left  a  beneficent  mark  on 
the  world  have  first  practised  what  they  afterwards 
preached.  In  this  respect  the  Apostle  and  High 
Priest  of  our  profession  was  made  like  unto  his  breth- 
ren.    He   lived  this  lesson  first,  and   taught  it   then. 


384  TJie   Clnu'cJi  in  the  House. 

He  tasted  the  blessedness  of  giving,  and  thereafter 
told  his  disciples  how  sweet  it  is. 

The  redemption  which  Christ  accomplished,  and 
the  gospel  reveals,  is  a  system  of  giving  and  receiving. 
It  consists  of  these  two,  and  of  these  two  only.  The 
whole  transaction  between  the  Saviour  and  the  saved 
is  comprehended  in  giving  and  getting.  He  gives; 
they  get.  This  is  the  sum  of  the  whole  matter.  Christ 
gives  all,  and  gets  nothing;  Christians  get  all,  and  give 
nothing. 

The  Lord  Jesus  speaks  from  experience  when  he 
explains  how  pleasant  it  is  to  give.  He  is  entitled  to 
speak  on  that  point  with  authority.  On  that  subject 
he  speaks  what  he  knows.  He  has  had  much  to  do 
with  giving,  first  and  last.  If  there  is  sweetness  in  the 
act,  he  must  have  enjoyed  that  pleasure  to  the  full. 

He  gave  himself  for  us:  this  is  a  gift  unspeakable. 
We  have  no  line  wherewith  we  may  measure  its  great- 
ness. It  is  as  when  a  little  child  looks  down  into  the 
blue  heavens  mirrored  in  a  still  lake;  the  child  ex- 
claims, "These  skies  are  deep,  deep!"  But  how  deep 
he  cannot  conceive,  far  less  adequately  express.  In- 
conceivable to  men  and  angels, — infinite  is  the  gift 
which  our  Redeemer  bestowed  when  he  offered  himself 
to  take  sin  away.  The  Giver  of  Himself  knows  what 
giving  is,  and  is  entitled  to  speak  with  authority  on 
the  amount  of  blessedness  involved  in  the  act. 

Nor  has  the  giving  ceased,  now  that  he  is  exalted. 
He  continues  to  dispense  his  bounties.  When  he  as- 
cended after  his  ministry  on  earth  was  done,  it  was  for 
the  express  purpose  of  giving.  He  gives  the  Spirit:  he 
gives  pardon  and  peace  day  by  day  to  "him  that 
Cometh."  He  gives  grace  in  this  life,  and  glory  in  the 
next.  On  this  part,  it  is  all  giving;  his  bounties  are 
waters  that  fail  not.  And  he  is  "  not  weary  in  well- 
doing." When  he  was  hungry  and  faint  at  the  well  of 
Samaria,  it  was  not  the  water  from  the  woman's  vessel 
or  bread  from  the  baskets  carried  by  the  twelve  that 
refreshed  him.  "I  have  meat  to  eat,"  he  said,  "that 
ye  know  not  of."  And  his  meat  was  giving — giving 
to  a  needy  sinner  the  gift  of  eternal  life. 

This  glimpse  into  the  heart  of  our  Redeemer  is  a 
salve  that  reaches  to  the  deepest  of  all  sores.     Brother, 


TJic  Larger  Blessing,  and  tlic  Less.  385 

when  you  begin  really  to  know  yourself,  it  is  not  easy 
to  hope  that  it  will  be  well  with  you  in  the  great  day. 
When  you  measure  the  deceit  and  corruption  of  your 
own  heart,  you  know  that  it  will  require  a  great  deal 
of  giving  on  the  part  of  Christ  to  make  you  right. 
Perhaps  you  could  hope  more  easily  if  your  debt  were 
smaller.  You  are  afraid  to  expect  that  it  will  be  all 
freely  forgiven,  because  it  is  so  great.  When  you  have 
looked  a  while  into  your  own  heart  to  see  its  empti- 
ness and  measure  how  much  you  need  to  receive,  turn 
round  and  look  a  while  unto  Jesus  to  learn  how  much 
he  possesses,  how  much  he  bestows,  and  how  much 
delight  he  takes  in  bestowing.  There  is  joy  in  the 
presence  of  the  angels  of  God  over  one  sinner  that 
rcpenteth;  and  the  joy  is  expressly  said  to  be  like  the 
joy  that  filled  the  shepherd's  heart  when  he  got  his 
wanderer  home  again.  The  joy  therefore  is  the  joy 
of  the  Lord,  which  surrounding  angels  see  gleaming  in 
his  face,  when  he  feels  that  virtue  has  gone  out  of  him 
to  sav^e  a  sinner.  Every  time  that  from  the  depths  of 
sin  and  misery  on  this  world  another  draft  is  made 
upon  his  love,  another  throb  of  joy  rebounds  in  the 
Redeemer's  breast. 

Humble  and  contrite  hearts,  that  sigh  and  cry  for 
the  light  of  God's  countenance,  should  drink  in  great 
consolation  from  these  words  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  If 
giving  were  a  pain  to  him,  he  would  have  long  ago 
ceased  to  give.  If  he  gave  grudgingly,  he  would  not 
give  at  all;  for  there  is  no  constraint  laid  on  him,  e.x- 
cept  the  compulsion  of  his  own  unmerited  love.  When 
our  Lord  with  his  disciples  made  the  journey  from 
Judaea  to  Galilee,  it  is  written  that  "he  must  needs 
go  through  Samaria."  There  was  indeed  a  geographi- 
cal necessity  on  the  surface,  for  Samaria  lay  right  across 
their  path;  but  there  was  a  deeper  necessity — a  neces- 
sity compelling  the  Lord  to  make  that  journey  at  that 
time;  it  was  his  hunger  for  the  meat  that  his  fellow- 
travellers  knew  not  of,  which  then  consumed  him — the 
appetite  for  giving  mercy  and  newness  of  life  to  a  chief 
sinner  in  Sychar.  He  must  go  that  way,  for  there  lay 
the  savory  food  that  his  soul  desired. 

In  his  goings  forth  from  eternity,  he  must  go  by  this 
world.     All  these  glorious  worlds  that  are   scattered 


386  The   Church  in  the  House. 

over  the  infinite  belong  to  him:  but  it  is  not  necessary 
that  he  should  dwell  in  any  of  them  and  take  part  of 
the  nature  of  their  inhabitants.  These  were  not  need- 
ing anything:  these  remained  as  God  had  made  them — 
all  very  good.  He  would  have  enjoyed  no  giving  there, 
and  a  sojourn  there  would  not  have  been  blessed  to 
him. 

For  this  joy  that  was  set  before  him — for  this  greater 
blessedness — the  blessedness  of  giving,  he  came  and 
companied  with  the  empty  and  the  lost. 

Let  us  bear  these  words  of  the  Lord  Jesus  on  our 
hearts  when  we  pray.  To  be  assured  that  he  counts 
it  blessedness  to  give,  should  greatly  encourage  us  in 
asking. 

The  words  do  not  say  and  do  not  mean  that  it  is 
unpleasant  to  receive.  When  the  receiver  is  needy, 
and  the  gift  good,  and  the  giver  generous,  it  is  blessed 
to  receive.  Tell  it,  ye  who  have  come  to  the  Lord — • 
Avretched  and  miserable,  and  blind  and  naked,  and  have 
received  from  him  pardon  and  peace  and  eternal  life, — 
tell  it  to  his  glory.  Is  it  not  a  blessed  experience  to 
receive  }  Hark  !  they  tell  it  who  already  stand  round 
the  throne  in  white  clothing, — Thou  hast  redeemed  us 
and  washed  us  from  our  sins  in  thy  blood.  Sing  unto 
the  Lord,  for  he  hath  triumphed  gloriously.  These 
jubilant  hosts  who  have  passed  in  safety  through  the 
Red  Sea  are  not  givers;  they  are  only  receivers.  They 
are  rejoicing  with  a  joy  that  is  unspeakable  and  full  of 
glory;  but  it  is  the  joy  of  receiving  that  swells  in 
their  hearts  and  thrills  through  their  frames.  When 
the  Lord  intimated  that  the  blessedness  of  giving  is 
the  greater,  he  did  not  intimate  that  the  blessedness 
of  receiving  was  small.  He  proclaims  in  one  sentence 
the  twofold  truth,  that  the  joy  of  his  people  in  obtain- 
ing salvation  is  great,  and  his  own  in  bestowing  it  is 
greater. 

There  is  an  amazing  affluence  in  the  works  of  God, 
both  in  the  covenant  of  his  mercy  and  the  creation 
of  his  hand.  "And  God  made  two  great  lights;  the 
greater  light  to  rule  the  day,  and  the  lesser  light  to 
rule  the  night:  the  stars  also"  (Gen.  i.  16).  After  the 
chief  lights  were  provided,  he  needed  .  some  smaller 
sparks  to  supplement  the  moon's  rays  in  the  work  of 


The  Larger  Blessing,  and  the  Less.  387 

diminishing  the  darkness  of  night  on  this  world.  For 
this  purpose,  he  employed  a  multitude  of  glorious  orbs, 
many  of  them  mightier  far  than  the  sun  and  all  its 
system. 

It  is  thus  in  the  covenant.  God  needs  a  motive  to 
urge  his  people  during  their  probation  here  to  greater 
liberality  in  their  charity;  and  for  that  purpose  reveals 
the  experience  of  his  Son  in  the  work  of  redemption. 
He  needed  a  lamp  for  our  feet  at  a  rough  step  on  the 
journey;  and  lo,  in  order  to  obtain  it,  he  draws  aside 
the  vail,  rends  the  heavens,  and  displays  to  view  the 
love  and  joy  that  burn  in  the  bosom  of  God  our  Sa- 
viour !  No  wonder  that  the  ravished  pilgrim  forgets 
for  a  time  the  step  on  earth  thus  illumined,  and  gazes 
on  the  glory  that  sheds  down  the  needed  light. 

In  a  subordinate  sense,  the  Lord's  people  also  give 
to  him,  and  he  receives  from  them.  He  loves  this 
receiving.  Evidence  that  he  delighted  in  the  self- 
consecration  of  his  disciples  crops  out  everywhere  in 
the  evangelic  histories.  In  the  case  of  the  woman 
who  poured  out  the  precious  contents  of  the  alabaster 
box  to  anoint  his  body  for  the  burial,  he  gives  unmis- 
takable indications  that  he  was  much  pleased  with  the 
lavish  offering.  In  the  case  of  the  ten  lepers,  too,  he 
does  not  conceal  that  he  rejoiced  in  the  thanksgiving 
of  the  grateful  one,  and  missed  the  acknowledgments 
of  the  selfish  majority. 

It  was  kind  in  him  to  let  us  know  that  he  values 
our  gifts,  although  we  render  to  him  only  what  we 
have  received.  It  would  have  thrown  a  discouraging 
damp  over  every  grateful  aspiration,  if  he  had  left  us 
to  suppose  that,  not  needing  our  offerings  to  supply 
any  lack,  he  was  indifferent  to  all  the  loving  gifts  that 
loving  hea'-ts  and  hands  might  lay  at  his  feet.  Some- 
times a  little  child  is  permitted  to  present  a  flower  to 
the  sovereign  on  occasion  of  a  public  procession.  The 
sovereign  takes  real  pleasure  in  the  offering  and  the 
offerer:  the  sovereign's  condescension  is  a  mighty  en- 
couragement to  the  child.  It  is  in  some  such  way  that 
disciples,  who  have  attained  to  some  measure  of  the 
little  child's  spirit,  are  encouraged  to  present  their 
thank-offerings,  by  knowing  that  he  loves  to  receive 
them. 


388  TJie   Church   in   the  House. 

And  now  that  he  has  gone  beyond  our  reach,  it  is 
his  own  express  will  that  we  should  consider  the  poor 
as  receivers  for  him.  We  have  no  Saviour  present  to 
the  senses  on  whose  head  we  might  pour  our  precious 
ointoient  now;  but  the  poor  we  have  always  at  hand; 
and  the  Master's  command  is  that  we  should  turn  the 
ointment  into  cash,  and  with  the  proceeds  help  our 
needy  brother. 


LXXXVIII. 

THE  HIGH  PRIEST  INSULTING  PAUL. 

'■'■And  Paul  earnestly  beholding  the  council,  said,  Men  and  brethren,  I 
\ave  lived  in  all  good  conscience  before  God  until  this  day.  And  the  high 
priest  Ananias  commanded  them  that  stood  by  him  to  smite  him  on  the 
mouth.'" — Acts  xxiii.  i,  2. 

"After  we  were  gotten  from  them"  (ch.  xxi.  i)  means 
after  we  had  torn  ourselves  away.  It  was  a  tender 
meeting,  and  a  painful  parting.  They  all  wept  sore. 
They  sorrowed  to  see  the  missionary  going  away,  and 
sorrowed  most  to  hear  him  saying  that  they  should  see 
his  face  no  more. 

Two  thoughts,  constituting  a  pair,  suggest  them- 
selves here:  (i)  Christians  suffer  as  much  as  others  from 
the  necessary  partings  that  occur  in  life,  or  rather  they 
suffer  more,  for  their  faith  increases  their  susceptibility. 
The  affections  run  deeper  and  wax  stronger  in  a  nature 
that  has  been  mellowed  by  faith.  But  (2)  Christians 
who  live  up  to  their  privileges  enjoy  consolations  cor- 
respondingly great.  If  their  partings  are  painful,  their 
hopes  of  meeting  again  are  sure.  The  pain  of  tempo- 
rary separation  is  overbalanced  by  the  expectation  of 
being  soon  and  always  together  with  the  Lord.  The 
loving  hope  absorbs  the  sadness  as  the  fire  licked  up 
the  water  in  the  trench  round  Elijah's  altar,  and  a  bal- 
ance of  blessedness  remains. 

The  course  of  the  voyage  is  noted  briefly  but  clearly. 
First,  the  ship  made  a  straight  course  to  Coos,  a  small 


The  HigJi  Priest  iiisitlthig  Paul.  389 

island,  twenty-three  miles  longr,  divided  from  the  main- 
land by  a  narrow  channel.  The  ground  is  fertile  and 
the  traffic  large.  Next  day  they  made  the  large  island 
of  Rhodes.  Passing  with  a  fair  wind  through  the  chan- 
nel which  divides  it  from  the  continent,  they  brought 
up  in  the  harbor  of  Patara,  the  shipping  port  of  the  city 
Xanthus  on  the  mainland. 

From  Patara  the  ship's  course  no  longer  lay  along 
the  coast.  She  stands  out  to  sea  in  a  south-easterly 
direction,  leaving  Cyprus  on  the  left,  and  steering  for 
Tyre  on  the  Syrian  coast.  At  Tyre  the  ship  discharges 
her  cargo.  As  there  must  be  a  detention  of  several 
days  here,  the  missionary  will  take  advantage  of  it,  and 
prosecute  his  own  business.  He  goes  ashore,  and  soon 
finds  the  Christians  who  reside  in  the  port.  Tyre  is 
one  of  the  most  ancient  and  most  celebrated  of  cities. 
It  was  a  great  sea-port  in  Ezekiel's  time;  and  the  course 
of  events  seems  to  point  to  it,  or  to  some  spot  near  it, 
as  a  great  entrepot  between  Europe  and  India  in  the 
twentieth  century. 

Paul  found  the  disciples  that  were  in  Tyre.  Some 
were  found  in  every  city  throughout  those  regions;  and 
by  the  law  that  "  like  draws  to  like,"  they  soon  found 
themselves  congregated  in  one  company  to  hear  the 
Apostle  of  the  Gentiles.  Here  accordingly  the  travel- 
ler remained  a  week,  as  in  Troas,  preaching  no  doubt, 
to  a  great  assembly  on  the  Lord's-day.  That  Sabbath 
would  remain  marked  in  the  memory  of  Tyrian  believ- 
ers, even  unto  old  age,  as  a  well  springing  in  the  desert. 

Although  the  brethren  warned  Paul,  through  the 
spirit  of  prophecy,  of  the  dangers  that  awaited  him  in 
Jerusalem,  he  would  not  desist  from  his  purpose  of  vis- 
iting it.  He  had  repeatedly  consented  to  retire  from 
danger  when  his  life  would  have  been  exposed  without 
adequate  cause;  but  he  would  not  allow  himself  to  be 
diverted  from  his  course  when  he  had  a  great  object  in 
view  by  any  kind  or  degree  of  personal  danger.  Here 
accordingly  occurs  another  tender  separation.  The 
whole  assembly,  including  women  and  children,  accom- 
panied the  missionary  to  the  ship.  They  knelt  together 
on  the  shore  and  prayed.  There  was  a  temple  conse- 
crated to  the  worship  of  God — its  floor  the  sea-sand, 
its  canopy  the  vault  of  heaven,  its  organ-peal  the  roar- 


3QO  The   Church   in   the  House. 

ing  of  the  waves  as  they  broke  upon  the  beach  !  There, 
though  marked  by  no  material  cross,  and  circumscribed 
by  no  man-marked  line — there  is  a  spot  of  holy  ground. 
How  dreadful  is  that  spot  on  the  sea-shore  near  Tyre 
• — how  dreadful  and  yet  how  gladsome  !  It  is  the  gate 
of  heaven,  through  which  the  ardent  spirits  of  those 
ancient  Christians,  led  by  the  lips  of  Paul,  went  in  to 
the  throne  of  grace — by  which  the  Lord  who  heard 
them  came  forth  to  be  with  them  unseen,  as  fulfilment 
of  his  promise.  Such  holy  places  on  the  surface  of  this 
earth  have  all  the  disciples  of  the  Lord, — the  sacred- 
ness,  however,  adhering  not  to  the  ground,  but  to  the 
memory  of  those  who  have  met  their  Lord  there. 

Claudius  Lysias,  the  Roman  tribune  commanding 
the  garrison  of  Jerusalem,  and  in  the  absence  of  the 
governor  responsible  for  the  peace  of  the  city,  found 
it  necessary  to  take  Paul  up  by  force  from  the  excited 
populace,  and  shut  him  for  safety  in  the  castle  of  An- 
tonia.  Uncertain  still  as  to  the  nature  of  the  charges 
which  were  so  violently  preferred  against  the  eminent 
missionary,  he  gave  orders  that  he  should  be  examined 
by  scourging;  but  as  the  men  were  binding  his  hands, 
Paul  quietly  asked  the  superintending  centurion  whether 
it  were  lawful  to  scourge  a  man  that  was  a  Roman  and 
uncondemned.  Again  he  appeals  with  success  to  im- 
perial law  for  the  preservation  of  his  own  life. 

Next  day,  in  order  to  get  the  matter  cleared,  Lysias 
summoned  a  meeting  of  the  Jewish  great  council,  and 
requested  them  to  examine  the  prisoner.  When  the 
sanhedrim  was  duly  constituted  in  a  hall  attached  to 
the  Temple,  Lysias  conducted  Paul  from  the  castle 
and  placed  him  at  their  bar.  The  tribune,  no  doubt, 
after  all  that  he  had  seen,  took  the  precaution  of  sta- 
tioning a  military  guard  near  enough  to  prevent  any 
attempt  against  the  prisoner's  life. 

As  we  enter  here  the  last  section  of  the  history,  it 
may  be  useful  to  pause  and  observe  the  difference  in 
character  and  design  between  it  and  all  the  preceding 
portions.  At  this  point  the  scope  of  the  history  be- 
comes narrower.  It  is  now  the  track  of  Paul  alone. 
All  other  actors  disappear  from  the  scene,  except  in 
as  far  as  they  were  mixed  up  with  his  experience.  Nor 
is  it  only  that  the  history  concerns  itself  henceforth 


The  Hij^/i   Priest  iji suiting  Paul.  391 

with  the  course  of  this  single  missionar)';  for  even  with 
regard  to  him  the  character  of  the  narrative  undergoes 
a  change.  Although  he  maintains  his  character  as  a 
witness  for  Christ  to  the  last,  the  historj'  is  no  longer 
a  record  of  missionary  journeys  to  found  churches,  and 
to  revisit  them  for  comfort  and  consolidation.  The 
main  line  now  is  a  memorial  of  Divine  Providence,  pre- 
serving the  missionary's  life  until  he  should  be  in  a 
position  to  preach  the  gospel  in  Rome  as  he  had 
already  preached  it  in  Jerusalem.  Precious  in  God's 
sight  is  the  death  of  his  saints,  and  precious  also  in 
his  sight  is  their  life.  He  will  lay  all  the  powers  of 
nature  and  all  the  kingdoms  of  the  earth  under  requisi- 
tion to  protect  a  life  that  he  needs  as  an  instrument 
in  his  work  of  righteousness  until  his  M'ork  be  done. 
Paul  must  witness  for  Christ  at  the  centre  of  the  world's 
power;  this  is  fixed  as  the  end,  and  the  means  are  all 
provided.  The  remaining  portion  of  the  book  is  the 
record  of  these  provisions. 

Henceforth  our  theme  therefore  must  be  the  ar- 
rangements of  Providence  for  the  spread  and  establish- 
ment of  the  kingdom  of  grace.  Our  business  now  is, 
to  see  God's  hand  working  rather  than  to  hear  his  word 
instructing;  but  to  the  open  and  watchful  ear,  the  still 
small  voice  of  the  gospel  will  ever  and  anon  break 
forth  in  the  intervals  of  the  earthquake  and  the  thun- 
der. He  that  hath  an  ear  may  still  hear,  in  the  con- 
cluding portion  of  Paul's  history,  "  what  the  Spirit  saith 
unto  the  Churches." 

The  history  of  apostolic  missions  is  finished;  but  be- 
fore the  parchment  is  rolled  up,  the  line  of  one  life  is 
carried  a  few  stages  farther  forward  into  the  centuries, 
by  way  of  specimen,  that  we  may  see  how  the  Lord 
fulfilled  his  promise,  "  Lo,  I  am  with  you  always,  even 
to  the  end  of  the  world."  We  learn  here  how  the 
Lord  reigneth;  how  he  sits  King  upon  the  floods;  how 
he  stills  the  waves  and  the  tumults  of  the  people;  how 
he  makes  effectual  his  own  command,  Touch  not  mine 
anointed,  and  do  my  prophets  no  harm.  When  we  see 
the  waves  rising,  we  cry,  like  Peter,  in  despair,  as  if  all 
were  lost.  In  this  portion  of  the  history  the  Lord  ad- 
dresses us  with  mingled  reproof  and  encouragement — • 
"O  thou  of  little  faith,  wherefore  didst  thou  doubt.'" 


392  The   Church  in  the  House. 

The  sanhedrim  had  assembled;  Paul  was  led  in.  As 
soon  as  he  entered  it  is  intimated  that  he  eyed  the  as- 
sembly— "earnestly  beholding  the  council."  There  is 
much  power  in  a  human  eye.  If  there  be  courage  in 
the  heart,  it  finds  expressive  outlet  by  the  eye.  Cow- 
ards cannot  stand  erect  under  a  brave  man's  look. 
Lions,  it  is  said,  wince  under  a  man's  steadfast  gaze 
more  than  under  the  lash  which  he  inflicts.  The  eye 
is  both  a  channel  of  emotion  and  an  instrument  of 
power.  In  this  case  a  good  conscience  and  a  strong 
faith  added  power  to  the  look  with  which  the  solitary 
missionary  met  the  gaze  of  the  assembly,  and  made 
the  priestly  judges  cower  under  the  eye  of  the  panel 
at  their  bar.  Paul  did  not  wait  till  a  question  should 
be  put  or  a  charge  preferred.  He  is  not,  properly 
speaking,  on  his  trial  before  the  sanhedrim.  He  is 
sent  by  the  Roman  authorities  to  the  native  Jewish 
council,  in  order  to  obtain  a  skilled  and  competent 
investigation  of  his  case.  The  court  are  charged,  not 
to  try  a  criminal,  but  to  investigate  facts  for  the  guid- 
ance of  the  governor.  Such  seems  to  have  been  Paul's 
own  view  of  the  situation,  for  he  is  himself  the  first 
to  speak.  With  a  salutation  entirely  friendly  but  by 
no  means  cringing  he  began  to  lay  before  the  coun- 
cil a  narrative  of  the  steps  that  led  to  the  present 
complications. 

I  think  Paul  had  an  intelligent  object  in  view  when 
he  addressed  the  members  of  the  council  respectfully 
but  manfully  as  "brother  men."  He  is  by  this  time 
such  an  one  as  Paul  the  aged.  He  saw  on  these  benches 
many  who  had  been  his  fellow-students,  and  some,  no 
doubt,  who  had  been  both  his  juniors  and  his  inferiors 
when  they  sat  together  at  Gamaliel's  feet.  He  had 
done  nothing  to  forfeit  his  position  as  their  colleague 
and  equal.  He  had  honored  the  law  in  confessing 
Christ  its  fulfilment.  He  will  not,  by  word  or  deed, 
relinquish  his  position.  "My  brothers,"  says  the  in- 
trepid preacher,  as  he  opens  his  address.  In  one  aspect 
the  salutation  is  kind;  in  another,  it  carefully  main- 
tains his  dignity  and  his  rights.  He  h-umbles  himself 
before  God,  but  he  will  not  humiliate  himself  before 
men. 

As  soon  as  Paul  had  uttered  the  first  sentence  of 


Paul  answering  the  High  Priest.  393 

his  speech,  the  high  priest  Ananias  interrupted  him 
by  abruptly  giving  an  order  to  the  officers  of  the  court 
to  smite  him  on  the  mouth.  This  is  a  very  remark- 
able statement.  It  reveals  a  condition  of  extreme 
corruption  and  degradation  in  Jewish  society.  Their 
chief  magistrate,  on  his  seat  of  authority,  surrounded 
by  his  council,  perpetrates  an  act  of  ruffian  rudeness 
fit  only  for  the  lowest  haunts.  In  rejecting  the  Mes- 
siah the  Jewish  hierarchy  have  sunk  into  a  low  moral 
tone.  They  seem  to  have  been  given  over  to  a  repro- 
bate mind. 

We  obtain  here  a  glimpse  of  a  general  law.  When 
a  chief  sinner  accepts  Christ  in  simple  faith,  there  is 
an  immediate  and  great  elevation  of  the  moral  sense 
in  the  converted  man.  In  more  than  one  aspect  he 
becomes  a  new  creature.  But  the  converse  also  holds 
good.  When  Christ  is  brought  near  to  any  mind,  and 
his  claim  touches  the  conscience,  and  the  man,  self- 
pleasing,  ultimately  rejects  the  offered  Christ,  the  last 
state  of  such  a  rejecter  is  worse  than  the  first.  Those 
who  waste  privileges  and  quench  convections  seem  to 
sink  lower  than  those  who  have  never  enjoyed  them. 
Beware  of  stifling  convictions — of  crucifying  Christ. 


LXXXIX. 

PAUL  ANSWERING    THE  HIGH  PRIEST. 

•'  Then  said  Paul  unto  him,  God  shall  smite  thee,  thou  whited  'wall: 
for  sittesl  thou  to  Judge  me  after  the  laxv,  and  commandest  ine  to  be 
smitten  contrary  to  the  laiv  ?  And  they  that  stood  by  said,  Rez'ilesl 
thou  God^s  high  priest  ?  Then  said  Paul,  I  wist  not,  brethren,  that 
he  was  the  high  priest:  for  it  is  written.  Thou  shalt  not  speak  evil 
of  the  ruler  of  thy  people,'"  etc. — ACTS  xxni.  3-II. 

"  Gou  shall  smite  thee,  thou  whited  wall."  This  bold 
rejoinder  of  Paul  presents  an  interesting  study.  In  it- 
self, and  apart  from  circumstances,  the  pungency  of 
the  apostle's  reproof  needs  no  other  justification  than 
that  which  he  gave  on  the  spot:  "for  sittest  thou  to 


394  T^^^   Church  in  the  House. 

judge  me  after  the  law,  and  commandest  me  to  be 
smitten  contrary  to  the  law  ? "  Luther  was  wont  to 
launch  such  thunderbolts  against  his  princely  and 
priestly  oppressors.  Great  and  earnest  men  in  all 
ages  have  been  wont  to  rise  above  their  circumstances 
and  bring  unjust  judges  suddenly  to  the  bar. 

Ananias  seems  to  have  beep  struck  dumb.  He  loses 
his  breath,  and  sits  silent.  They  that  stood  by — some 
officials  of  his  court  or  aspirants  for  his  favor — took 
speech  in  hand  to  shield  their  astonished  patron. 
These  apologists  were  fain  to  fling  his  official  dignity 
over  the  ermined  culprit  whom  they  could  not  in  any 
other  way  defend.  Not  a  word  did  they  dare  to  utter 
in  excuse  or  extenuation  of  his  conduct.  His  act  is 
tacitly  abandoned,  and  they  take  refuge  in  the  office 
which  he  holds. 

A  high-minded  and  honorable  government  is  a  boon 
above  all  price  to  a  nation.  Judges  that  are  impartial 
and  just  are  a  good  gift  of  God  in  his  providence.  We 
in  this  country  may  well  thank  God  for  the  Reformation, 
for  with  it  comes  and  with  it  goes  the  liberty  of  the 
people. 

It  is  with  the  apostle's  reply  to  the  defence  offered 
by  the  high  priest's  satellites  that  the  real  difficulty 
for  us  begins.  When  they  reproached  him  with  re- 
viling the  high  priest,  he  excused  himself  by  saying, 
"  I  wist  not  that  he  was  the  high  priest."  If  he  had 
not  excused  himself  we  should  not  have  thought  he 
needed  an  excuse;  but  the  excuse  he  gives  suggests  a 
real  though  not  a  very  serious  difficulty.  It  requires 
explanation,  but  it  is  clearly  susceptible  of  explanation. 

It  is  not  easy  to  determine  conclusively  which  of 
many  possible  explanations  is  the  best,  but  any  one  of 
several  is  sufficient.  For  example:  i.  Ananias,  in  those 
violent  times,  may  have  been  an  intruder  and  usurper. 
2.  Some  other  member  may  have  presided  at  that  diet, 
and  Ananias  may  not  have  been  distinguishable  by 
position  or  dress  from  the  rest.  3.  It  is  conceivable 
that  Paul  meant  to  say  that  this  brutal  act  could  not 
have  been  perpetrated  by  "  God's  high  priest,"  and 
to  assume  before  the  council  that  such  a  miscreant 
could  not  be  the  chief  of  the  sacred  college.  Or,  4.  As 
has  been  lately  suggested,  Paul  may  have  been  short- 


Paul  iDisiiwring  the  High  Priest.  395 

siglitcd — not  able,  especially  if  the  light  was  unfavor- 
able, to  distinguish  faces  across  a  spacious  hall.  This 
is  countenanced  by  the  attitude  which  the  apostle  as- 
sumed when  he  first  entered  the  court,  "earnestly 
beholding  the  council  " — fixing  his  gaze  scrutinizingly 
and  with  straining  upon  the  assembly.  Thus  he  may 
positi\'ely  not  have  known  that  the  rude,  illegal  order 
proceeded  from  the  president  of  the  council. 

I  mention  these  as  possible  solutions,  and  could 
mention  others;  but  these  are  enough  to  show  that 
Paul's  words  can  easily  be  accounted  for,  although  we 
do  not  possess  the  means  of  certainly  determining  which 
of  several  explanations  actually  constituted  at  the  time 
the  ground  of  his  remark. 

On  the  whole,  I  don't  think  that  there  is  urgent 
need  for  apologies  here.  If  Paul  was  angry,  he  had 
cause.  He  resented  with  spirit  a  brutal  assault,  and 
made  the  mitred  miscreant  feel  that  his  robes  and 
phylacteries  could  not  protect  him  from  the  withering 
stroke  of  a  just  man's  rebuke.  On  the  whole,  the  mis- 
sionary contrived,  in  this  perplexing  incident,  to  make 
clear  for  us  a  great  and  important  distinction  between 
the  office  and  the  man  who  disgraced  it.  He  respects 
the  priestly  office,  but  the  criminal  priest  he  denounces 
sharply. 

By  this  time  Paul  had  seen  enough  to  convince  him 
that  no  good  could  result  from  this  inquiry,  and  his 
acute  intellect  readily  perceived  the  means  of  cutting 
it  short.  He  saw  that  the  two  parties  of  which  the 
council  was  composed,  although  united  against  him, 
were,  on  vital  matters,  at  daggers  drawn  against  each 
other  as  Pharisees  and  Sadducees.  Accordingly  he 
seized  the  opportunity  of  professing,  in  a  loud  voice, 
his  adherence  to  the  distinguishing  doctrines  of  the 
Pharisees.  This  was  really  and  notoriously  true.  In 
becoming  a  Christian  he  had  not  abandoned  or  even 
modified  those  doctrines  of  the  Pharisees  which  dis- 
tinguished them  from  the  Sadducees.  The  doctrine  of 
the  resurrection,  dgar  to  him  before,  had  become  ten- 
fold dqarQr  since  he  knew  that  the  Lord  had  risen. 
This  profession  of  his  faith  produced  immediately  the 
expected  effect.  It  set  the  two  parties  together  by 
the  ears,     Through  the  avenue  made  by  the  division 


396  The   CJnirch  in  the  Hotise. 

Paul  escaped  from  their  hands.  In  the  tumult  the  Ro- 
man tribune,  fearing  mischief,  came  with  a  guard,  and 
carried  Paul  into  the  castle. 

"  The  night  following  the  Lord  stood  by  him." 
The  wearied  missionary,  saved  from  the  rage  of  his 
countrymen  only  by  the  walls  of  a  Roman  fortress 
and  the  swords  of  a  Roman  garrison,  lies  down  to 
sleep.  The  Everlasting  Arms  are  underneath  him,' 
and  he  has  no  fear.  No  plague  can  come  nigh  his 
dwelling.  The  shields  of  the  earth  belong  unto  God, 
and  the  strongest  of  them — the  imperial  Roman  power 
— is  now  interposed  between  him  and  those  who  sought 
his  life.  Think  what  must  have  been  his  prayer  that 
night  !  His  heart  longed  after  Israel,  although  they 
thirsted  for  his  blood. 

I  think  the  soldier  on  guard  that  night  at  the  door 
of  Paul's  apartment  must  have  reported  in  the  morn- 
ing that  there  were  two  persons  in  the  room,  as  the 
listeners  reported  regarding  John  Welsh  in  the  old 
church  of  Ayr.  The  sentry  would  probably  hear 
through  the  key-hole  an  earnest  reasoning  and  en- 
treaty going  on — "  I  will  not  let  thee  go  except  thou 
bless  me  " — as  when  two  are  engaged  in  close  debate. 
Paul  cried  to  God  that  night  certainly;  for  God  came 
at  his  servant's  call.  The  answer  comes  as  an  echo 
of  the  prayer.  The  Lord  stood  by  him  and  said,  ".Be 
of  good  cheer."  The  answer  given  reveals  the  request 
that  had  been  secretly  made.  Be  of  good  cheer,  Paul: 
the  answer  proves  that  Paul's  cheer  had  been  poor 
when  he  lay  down.  What  may  have  been  the  weight 
that  lay  so  heavy  on  his  heart }  His  life  was  not  in 
immediate  danger.  He  was  under  the  protection  of 
Roman  law,  in  this  case  administered  by  a  fair  and 
thoughtful  man.  It  was  not  fear  for  his  own  life  that 
marred  his  cheerfulness.  Still  following  our  rule  of 
discovering  the  ailment  from  the  cure  applied,  we  find 
the  consolation  offered  was  a  specific  promise  that  he 
should  be  permitted  to  bear  witness  for  Christ  at 
Rome.  Here  then  we  discover  the  cause  of  the  apos- 
tle's sadness:  he  had  begun  to  fear  that  he  would  yet 
be  disappointed  in  the  great  aim  of  his  life — to  preach 
the  gospel  in  Rome.  His  desire  in  that  direction  had 
now   grown   into   a   passion.     Jerusalem,  to  which   he 


Compassed  ivith  Jiis  Favoj-  as  ivitJi  a  Shield.    397 

hastened  through  all  obstacles  in  his  last  journey,  has 
now  finall)'  rejected  him  and  his  message.  The  Jews 
in  persecuting  the  missionary  rejected  Christ.  Paul 
was  led  to  accept  this  decision,  and  henceforth  he 
bends  all  his  energy  towards  Rome.  He  is  the  apos- 
tle of  the  Gentiles,  and  the  chief  desire  of  his  heart 
now  is  to  make  known  Christ  in  the  metropolis  of  the 
world. 


XC. 

COMPASSED    WITH  HIS  FAVOR  AS    WITH  A    SHIELD. 

'■'■And  xvhc-n  it  was  day,  curtain  of  the  y<nus  banded  together,  and 
bound  themselves  under  a  curse,  saying  that  they  would  neither  eat  nor 
drink  till  they  had  killed  Paul,''  <>/(:.— Acts  xxiii.  12-35. 

The  conspiracy  formed  to  assassinate  Paul  and  the 
means  by  which  it  was  defeated  are  narrated  with  con- 
siderable minuteness.  The  history  is  perhaps  given 
the  more  fully  that  it  contains  and  exhibits  a  decisive 
example  of  the  actual  union  and  harmony  between  the 
prescient  purpose  of  God  and  the  responsibility  of  men 
for  duty  in  their  own  sphere.  It  was  determined  that 
Paul's  life  should  be  saved  from  these  dangers,  and 
that  determination  was  made  known  to  him.  He 
knew  for  certain  that  these  schemers  could  not  take 
his  life;  he  knew  for  certain  that  the  power  of  God 
was  pledged  effectually  to  frustrate  their  designs;  yet 
with  this  knowledge  Paul  laid  his  plans  anxiously  and 
skilfully,  and  executed  them  with  secresy  and  energy, 
for  the  preservation  of  his  own  life,  precisely  as  if  he 
had  thought  that  all  depended  on  his  own  skill  and 
promptitude.  This  shows  conclusively  that  in  Paul's 
mind  a  belief  in  the  decrees  of  God  did  not  conflict 
with  the  obligation  to  diligent  duty  on  the  part  of 
men.  He  framed  and  conducted  a  counterplot  to  de- 
feat the  conspiracy  of  the  Jewish  priesthood  with  as 
much  zeal  and  care  as  if  he  had  not  obtained  previous 
assurance  of  his  safety.     This  simple  history  is  most 


398  The   CJiurcli  in  the  House. 

precious  as  an  inspired  commentary  on  some  difficult 
doctrines.  It  does  not  indeed  make  the  doctrines 
easy  of  comprehension;  it  does  not  reheve  them  of 
mystery  to  our  minds;  but  it  is  fitted  to  accomplish 
very  great  practical  good  in  two  distinct  yet  related 
aspects.  It  is  fitted  first  of  all  to  show  us  that  no 
view  of  the  Divine  purposes  can  be  right  that  in  any 
measure  tends  to  slacken  human  zeal  and  energy;  and, 
in  the  second  place,  it  ought  to  make  men  very 
guarded,  who,  either  from  the  Christian  or  non-Chris- 
tian view-point,  are  disposed  to  attribute  to  the  ad- 
herents of  so-called  Calvinistic  doctrines  consequences 
which  Paul  and  Calvin  would  have  repudiated.  Scrip- 
tural views  of  the  Divine  prescience  and  sovereignty, 
by  whatever  name  they  may  be  called,  stimulate  and 
do  not  sopite  the  watchfulness  and  energy  of  dis- 
ciples. To  be  assured  that  it  is  God  that  worketh 
in  them,  is  the  best  of  all  motives  to  induce  intel- 
ligent Christians  to  work  out  their  own  salvation  with 
fear  and  trembling  (Phil.  ii.  12,  13). 

The  Jewish  leaders  easily  found  a  band  of  despera- 
does, who  for  fitting  consideration  should  act  the  part 
of  assassins.  The  rule  of  a  superstitious  and  corrupt 
priesthood  will  produce  an  abundant  crop  of  such  in- 
struments in  any  age  and  in  any  land.  In  connection 
with  this  plot  an  incidental  glimpse  is  afforded  of  the 
apostle's  family  circle.  A  married  sister,  probably  a 
Christian,  and  having  her  residence  in  Asia  Minor,  or 
in  some  region  remote  from  Jerusalem,  deputes  her 
adult  son  to  perform  a  service  which  she  could  not 
personally  render  to  her  brother — to  wait  upon  him, 
and  render  him  assistance  it  his  struggle  with  the 
priest  party  in  Judaea.  This  young  man  discovers  the 
plot  and  reveals  it  to  his  uncle.  Paul,  enjoining  se- 
cresy  on  the  informer,  loses  no  time  in  getting  him 
introduced  to  the  Roman  commander.  The  result  is 
that  the  prisoner  is  sent  under  a  strong  guard  to 
Caesarea,  on  the  coast,  and  the  conspiracy  is  com- 
pletely frustrated. 

The  letter  addressed  by  the  tribune  commanding  in 
Jerusalem  to  his  superior,  Felix  the  governor,  is  pre- 
served entire.  It  is  a  most  interesting  ancient  docu- 
ment.    It  is  in  complete  accord  with  the  forms  and  the 


Compassed  ivith  his  Favor  as  luith  a  Shield.    399 

spirit  of  the  time.  Lysias  simply  and  briefly  recites  the 
facts  of  the  case,  and  leaves  it  in  the  hands  of  his  chief. 

Paul  is  now  in  the  hands  of  a  thoroughly  bad  man; 
but  the  Roman  laws  are  around  him,  and  these  suffice 
to  protect  him,  in  the  mean  time,  alite  from  the  foul 
treachery  of  the  Jews,  and  the  mean  avarice  of  Felix. 
The  law  will  not  permit  him  to  be  tried,  far  less  to  be 
condemned,  until  he  and  his  accusers  are  brought  face 
to  face  before  a  regular  tribunal.  Paul  is  placed  under 
arrest  indeed;  but  it  is  for  the  protection  of  his  life, 
rather  than  for  the  restraint  of  his  liberty.  Herod's 
judgment-hall,  the  place  of  his  confinement,  is  not  pre- 
cisely the  cell  in  which  they  would  immure  a  criminal. 
In  that  hall,  with  a  Roman  sentinel  pacing  up  and 
down  its  corridors  night  and  day,  the  missionary  will 
be  in  safe  keeping,  until  the  preliminaries  for  his  trial 
can  be  arranged.  Signal,  meantime,  unseen  by  human 
eye,  is  displayed  to  ministering  angels,  that  this  man 
must  be  preserved  unharmed,  for  the  word  of  the  Lord 
is  pledged  that  he  shall  preach  yet  in  Rome.  Lie  down, 
Paul,  and  rest  a  while:  give  some  repose  to  thy  weary 
limbs  and  anxious  heart.  Thy  course  is  almost  run: 
but  a  little  while  and  thou  shalt  enter  into  rest.  A 
few  more  tossings  on  the  sea  of  time,  and  thou  shalt 
be  sentinelled,  not  by  Roman  legionaries,  but  by  minis- 
tering spirits  who  attend  upon  the  heirs  of  salvation. 
One  city  more  to  be  visited,  one  ruler  of  this  world  more 
to  be  confronted,  one  trial  more  to  be  endured  before 
a  human  judgment-seat,  and  then  thou  shalt  be  per- 
mitted to  depart  and  to  be  with  Christ,  which  is  far 
better. 

But  such  faith  and  such  hope  belong  not  exclusively 
to  a  great  apostle,  or  to  the  supreme  crisis  of  an  event- 
ful life.  These  may  become  the  every-day  attainments 
of  common-place  people.  A  disciple  who  has  never 
stood  before  kings,  who  has  never  been  a  bone  of  con- 
tention between  rival  factions,  whose  life  has  been  spent 
in  a  private  sphere,  and  whose  name  has  never  been 
heard  of  half-a-mile  from  home,  may  participate  in  the 
grand  inheritance  which  Paul  enjoyed.  "  My  peace  I 
give  unto  you:  not  as  the  world  giveth,  give  I  unto 
you."  The  simplest  and  the  humblest  who  is  found  in 
Christ  may  lie  down  and  awake  with  God,  day  by  day 


4.00  TJie   CJiurcJi  iji  the  House. 

through  Hfe,  until  after  falHng  asleep  for  the  last  time 
here,  he  awake  in  the  presence  of  his  Lord. 

The  air — the  atmosphere  which  surrounds  this  globe 
— is  a  limited  quantity.  Its  measurements  are  known. 
It  can  be  weighed  even  in  our  balances,  and  fathomed 
by  our  laws;  yet  that  body  touches  at  the  same  mo- 
ment all  living.  It  enfolds  all  vegetable  and  animal 
life  in  one  comprehensive  embrace,  and  touches,  presses 
gently  on  every  flower  of  the  field  and  every  face  of 
man.  It  supplies  the  breath  of  life  to  all,  not  only 
those  who  stand  on  a  mountain-top  and  consciously 
inhale  the  blessing,  but  also,  and  equally,  those  who 
sleep  in  the  gallery  of  a  mine,  and  know  not  the  value 
of  the  omnipresent  boon.  We  can  understand  this 
fact  of  nature:  we  can  realize  and  appreciate  its  truth 
and  value.  Might  we  not  by  faith  as  clearly  realize 
that  the  love  of  God,  unlike  the  atmosphere,  his  crea- 
ture, infinite,  compasses  about  always  all  his  children, 
great  and  small,  of  every  language,  in  every  clime, 
clasping  them  round  continuously,  and  supplying  them 
with  life  ! 

The  same  atmosphere,  God's  creature,  that  was  suf- 
fused round  the  head  of  Paul,  when  he  slept  in  Herod's 
judgment-hall  at  Ca;sarea,  surrounds  our  heads  to-day, 
supplying  us  with  the  breath  of  life:  the  same  Divine 
love,  Christians,  that  sustained  Paul's  faith  and  refreshed 
his  spirit,  when  he  was  afflicted,  persecuted,  and  for- 
saken, compasses  us  about  to-day,  for  life  in  the  Lord, 
a  life  eternal.  Rejoice  in  the  Lord  always.  Oh  thou 
of  little  faith,  wherefore  didst  thou  doubt. 


The  Parties  at  the  Bar.  401 

XCI. 

THE  PARTIES  AT  THE  BAR. 

"An J  after  five  days  Ananias  the  high  priest  descended  luith  the 
titers,  and  with  a  certain  orator  named  Tertiillus,  who  informed  the 
gox'ernor  against  Paul.  And  when  he  was  called  forth,  Tertiillus  began 
to  accuse  him,  saying,  Seei>ig  that  by  thee  we  enjoy  great  quietness, 
atui  that  very  worthy  deeds  are  done  unto  this  nation  by  thy  providence," 
t'/t.— Acts  xxiv.  1-23. 

The  comfort  given  to  the  missionary  in  his  extremity 
consists  in  an  assurance,  not  that  his  troubles  should 
cease,  but  that  his  witness-bearing  should  continue. 
The  Lord  knew  what  grieved  his  servant's  heart;  and 
in  order  to  gladden  it,  announced,  Thou  shalt  bear  wit- 
ness of  me  at  Rome.  This  was  the  promise,  and  it 
must  be  fulfilled.  Many  and  various  agents  will  be 
pressed  into  the  service  in  order  to  accomplish  it.  The 
bloodthirsty  enmity  of  the  Jewish  priesthood,  and  the 
impartial  dignity  of  Roman  law;  the  plot  of  assassins, 
and  the  sharp-sighted  love  of  kindred;  the  avarice  of  a 
profligate  governor,  and  the  discipline  of  the  imperial 
legions, — all  conspired,  like  the  several  parts  of  a  ma- 
chine in  motion,  to  preserve  the  missionary's  life  and 
transplant  him  to  the  metropolis  of  the  world. 

At  C^Esarea  the  distinguished  prisoner  was  kept,  for 
protection  as  much  as  for  restraint,  until  his  accusers 
should  arrive.  In  five  days  the  persecutors  were  on 
the  spot,  and  the  case  was  called.  The  high  priest  in 
person,  with  several  of  his  confederates,  represented  the 
Sanhedrim.  The  priests  did  not  venture  to  conduct 
their  own  case.  Already  they  had  found  Paul  too  much 
for  them  in  debate.  They  knew  by  experience  that  he 
quickly  detected  the  weak  point  in  an  adversary's  argu- 
ment, and  had  no  mercy  on  sacerdotal  impertinence. 
Wise  in  their  generation,  the  Jewish  conclave  hired  a 
Roman  advocate  to  conduct  the  prosecution.  These 
men,  after  studying  law  in  the  capital,  were  wont  to 
practise  in  the  provinces.  They  were  acquainted  with 
legal  forms,  and  with  the  judicial  precedents:  provin- 
cial  litigants  found  it  their  interest  to  employ  them. 


402  Tlu   CJuDxJi  in  tJie  House. 

It  is  by  no  means  certain  that  the  advocate  used  the 
Latin  tongue;  for  examples  occur  in  which  the  Greek 
was  employed  even  in  Rome. 

It  was  a  rule  with  rhetoricians  to  compliment  the 
presiding  judge  at  the  outset;  and  this  part  of  his  func- 
tion TertuUus  greatly  overdid.  He  was  able  to  point 
with  truth  to  the  suppression  of  certain  bands  of  rob- 
bers as  a  boon  conferred  on  the  country;  but  history 
proves  that  the  governor's  own  cruel  and  lawless  acts 
oppressed  the  people  more  than  all  the  robbers  he  had 
rooted  out.  The  glimpse  which  this  book  gives  of  Fe- 
lix perfectly  accords  with  the  character  he  bears  in 
contemporary  history.  He  was  a  licentious,  rapacious, 
cruel,  and  unjust  man. 

After  the  advocate's  exordium  comes  the  indict- 
ment against  the  prisoner.  Its  terms  are  suspiciously 
general.  No  specific  act  is  libelled,  but  a  vague  scold- 
ing accusation  preferred  against  Paul  as  a  pest  and  a 
disturber.  Nothing  strange  has  happened  to  this  ser- 
vant of  Christ.  The  Master  had  warned  his  disciples 
that  they  should  be  accounted  and  called  "  offscour- 
ings ;  "  but,  at  the  same  time,  he  pronounced  them  to 
be  "  the  salt  of  the  earth."  The  high  priest  and  his 
colleagues  appeared  personally  and  assented  to  the 
statements  of  their  advocate.  When  the  case  of 
the  prosecutors  was  closed,  the  governor  beckoned  to 
Paul  that  he  was  at  liberty  to  reply.  The  gravity  and 
order  of  a  Roman  tribunal  contrast  strongly  with  the 
lawless  insolence  of  the  high  priest  in  his  court  at 
Jerusalem. 

Paul,  too,  like  his  adversary  Tertullus,  begins  with 
a  word  of  compliment  to  the  presiding  magistrate;  but 
he  utters  no  falsehood  and  no  exaggeration.  He  only 
mentions  an  obvious  fact,  that  the  governor  had  long 
experience  of  the  country.  As  to  the  substance  of 
his  address,  it  consists  of  two  parts:  those  things  in 
the  accusation  that  were  criminal  were  not  true;  and 
those  that  were  true  were  not  criminal.  The  crime.*) 
falsely  charged  he  denied,  and  challenged  his  accusers 
to  the  proof:  the  portions  of  the  indictment  that  were 
true  he  confessed,  and  contended  that  they  violated 
no  law. 

Even  in  an   oration,  whose   direct  object  was  the 


TJic  Parties   at  the  Bar.  403 

demonstration  of  his  own  innocence  and  the  preserva- 
tion of  his  own  life,  Paul  contrives  incidentally  to  in- 
dulge his  ruling  passion — that  is,  to  commend  the 
gospel  of  Christ:  he  carefully  points  out  that  the  belief  of 
the  gospel  is  not  the  rejection  of  the  Mosaic  system,  but 
its  natural  result.  He  testifies  to  thoughtful  Jews  that 
the  right  understanding  of  Moses  leads  to  the  reception 
of  Jesus  as  the  Christ.  In  the  matter  of  the  resurrec- 
tion, too,  which  was  the  immediate  occasion  of  the 
tumult  in  the  council  at  Jerusalem,  his  faith  coincided 
with  that  of  the  Pharisees  who  were  prosecuting  him. 

Besides  allusions  to  controverted  doctrines,  he  in- 
troduces a  mo^t  interesting  and  instructive  reference 
to  personal,  practical  holiness  of  life;  "  Herein  do  I 
exercise  myself,  to  have  always  a  conscience  void  of 
offence  toward  God  and  toward  men."  This  is  a  pre- 
cious morsel;  especially  when  we  consider  the  position 
in  which  it  stands,  and  the  circumstances  in  which  it 
was  given.  In  great  ecclesiastical  and  doctrinal  con- 
tentions, such  as  those  in  which  Paul  was  then  engaged 
or  those  which  agitate  the  Church  in  our  own  day, 
zeal  in  public  debate  too  often  overrides  and  crushes 
private,  personal  godliness  and  purity  of  conscience. 
It  is  reproving  and  instructive  to  observe  that  the 
Apostle  of  the  Gentiles,  at  the  very  moment  when  he 
was  compelled  to  contend  alone  against  a  nation 
leagued  to  destroy  him,  devoted  himself  habitually 
and  with  all  his  might  to  the  growth  of  grace  in  his 
own  soul,  and  the  practice  of  righteousness  in  all  his 
conduct.  Clear  in  his  logic  as  well  as  ardent  in  his 
affections,  he  rightly  divides  the  word  of  truth  on  this 
subject  for  our  instruction  in  the  end  of  the  world. 
Morality  with  Paul,  as  with  Moses,  diverges  into  two 
main  channels, — the  first  containing  our  duty  to  God, 
and  the  second  our  duty  to  man.  He  strove  to  have 
these  two  commandments  written,  not  with  ink,  but 
on  the  fleshy  tables  of  his  heart.  Let  the  conscience 
be  clean,  whether  it  point  upward  to  God,  or  outward 
to  men.  The  two  great  commandments  in  this  preach- 
er's life  were,  "  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God,  and 
thy  neighbor  as  thyself" 

Nor  did  this  great  saint  find  compliance  easy.  Obe- 
dience to  that  law  "exceeding  broad"  did  not  come 


404  TJic   Chuj'ch   in  the  Hotisc. 

to  him  by  chance,  without  plan  and  effort.  He  speaks 
of  it  in  the  terms  which  belong  to  the  drill  of  a  soldier. 
It  is  a  commonplace  in  military  economy,  that  a  soldier 
cannot  be  made  in  a  day.  Raw  recruits,  however  per- 
fect may  be  their  arms  and  their  uniform,  are  useless 
when  they  meet  an  enemy.  Wherein  really  consists 
the  strength  of  an  army  in  the  day  of  battle  .-^  In  the 
previous  exercise  of  the  individual  combatants.  This 
conception  Paul  adopts  and  applies  to  his  own  life  as 
a  witness  for  Christ  and  a  warfare  against  sin.  For 
the  motive  to  fight,  and  the  will  to  make  sacrifice  on 
the  side  of  holiness,  he  depends  altogether  on  the  re- 
demption of  Christ.  He  is  bought  with  a  price,  and 
is  therefore  not  his  own;  his  life  and  all  his  faculties 
are  at  the  disposal  of  the  Lord  that  bought  him;  but 
for  the  skill  and  power  to  fight  successfully  on  the  side 
he  has  chosen  he  depends  on  a  careful  and  constant 
exercise.  The  success  of  the  Christian  army  in  their 
holy  war  depends  on  the  drill,  day  by  day,  of  individ- 
ual warriors. 

And  if  the  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles,  a  man  great  in 
the  faith,  found  it  necessary  to  maintain  constantly  a 
military  watchfulness  and  practice,  how  presumptuous 
in  any  of  us  to  count  on  keeping  the  course,  and  ac- 
quiring the  crown,  by  an  indolent  wish  to  be  safe,  with- 
out a  constant  watchfulness,  an  energetic  effort,  and 
a  more  than  military  sternness  in  laying  aside  every 
weight,  and  the  sin  that  doth  most  easily  beset  us. 
Soldiers  are  never  done  with  exercise:  although  they 
have  served  honorably  for  a  quarter  of  a  century,  they 
must  still  submit  to  drill.  If  the  soldiers  of  Jesus 
Christ  were  as  wise  in  their  generation  and  as  pains- 
taking, more  victories  would  be  won,  and  more  cap- 
tives made.  The  kingdom  of  Christ  would  "come" 
in  greater  power,  both  in  the  hearts  of  individual  disci- 
ples and  over  the  nations  of  the  earth. 


Paul  and  Felix.  405 

XCII. 

PAUL  AND  FELIX. 

^^  And  after  certain  days,  when  Felix  came  with  his  wife  Dr  us  ilia, 
which  was  a  Je^uess,  he  sent  for  Paul,  and  heard  him  concerning  the 
faith  in  Christ.  And  as  he  reasoned  of  righteousness,  temperance,  and 
judgmefit  to  come,  Felix  trembled,  and  answered.  Go  thy  zuay  for  this 
time;  when  I  have  a  convenient  season,  I  will  call  for  thee." — ACTS 
XXIV.  24,  25. 

There  are  in  the  Scriptures  certain  grand  outstand- 
ing portions,  which  seem  to  bulk  more  largely  and 
shine  more  brightly  than  the  rest.  In  the  Old  Tes- 
tament the  twenty-third  Psalm  and  the  fifty-third 
chapter  of  Isaiah:  in  the  Gospels  the  interviews  with 
Nicodemus  and  the  Samaritan  woman,  the  parables 
of  the  sower,  the  shepherd,  and  the'  prodigal:  in  the 
Acts,  the  gospel  preached  to  the  Ethiopian  by  Philip, 
and  to  the  jailer  by  Paul;  the  gospel  preached  to  Felix 
here  and  rejected; — these  are  specimens  of  words  that 
grave  themselves  more  deeply  on  the  memory  of  Bible 
students,  and  come  up  more  frequently  for  use.  Nor 
is  it  either  unlike  the  ways  of  God  or  incongruous  with 
the  nature  of  the  case  that  some  points  should  excel 
in  beauty  and  power  where  all  is  Divine.  On  the 
earth's  surface,  some  mountains  rear  their  heads  into 
the  sky  far  above  the  valleys  and  the  "  little  hills  " 
that  bound  them,  and  some  stars  are  superior  to 
others  in  breadth  and  brightness.  To  recognize  prac- 
tically such  pre-eminence  does  not  disparage  the  body 
of  revelation  any  more  than  the  earth  that  bears  the 
mountains,  or  the  skies  that  hold  forth  the  stars. 

To  a  thirsting  soul  these  notable  portions  arc  like 
wells  by  the  wayside.  The  traveller  drank  from  them 
in  succession  the  first  time  he  trod  the  path,  perhaps 
fifty  years  ago;  but  if  he  is  living  still,  and  still  on 
pilgrimage,  with  the  same  hot  sand  beneath  his  feet, 
the  same  hot  sun  above  his  head,  he  will  drink  from 
each  well-remembered  spring  as  he  passes  it,  with  as 
much  delight  as  on  the  first  day  he  discovered  its  re- 
freshing water.     He  will  not  turn  away  his  head  with 


4o6  The  CJiiirch  in  the  House. 

the  complaint,  I  have  known  these  wells  so  long  and 
tasted  of  them  so  often  that  I  am  wearied  of  them  now. 
Therefore,  spring,  O  wells,  as  long  as  there  is  a  desert, 
and  drink,  O  Pilgrims,  as  long  as  you  are  thirsty;  for 
the  princes  of  the  people  digged  them, — David  and 
Isaiah,  and  Peter  and  John,  and  Matthew  and  Luke: 
and  drink,  reader,  if  thou  art  a  wayfarer  on  the  same 
path — drink  at  this  spring  in  the  desert  yet  once  more 
as  you  pass. 

The  governor,  indolent,  vicious,  self-pleasing,  post- 
poned decision  in  Paul's  case,  and  after  the  trial  relapsed 
into  his  pleasures.  But  the  pleasures,  long  continued 
and  not  much  varied,  palled  on  the  taste  of  the  volup- 
tuary To  relieve  their  languor,  he  and  his  wife  Drusilla 
determined  one  day  to  hear  a  sermon  from  the  distin- 
guished preacher  who  happened  to  be  their  prisoner. 
Accordingly,  a  message  is  conveyed  to  Paul  that  the 
governor  and  his  party  desired  to  hear  him  concerning 
the  faith  in  Jesus.  This  message  sent  to  the  prison  is 
all  the  heavens  different  from  the  cry  formerly  raised 
in  the  prison,  "What  must  I  do  to  be  saved  .-' "  But 
Paul  counts  the  occasion  good,  and  determines  to  oc- 
cupy his  opportunity.  Man  proposes,  but  God  disposes. 
What  Felix  begins  in  sport  may  end  in  earnest.  The 
imprisoned  apostle  will  endeavor  to  strike  a  blow  for 
the  kingdom  of  Christ  in  the  high  places  of  the  earth. 

The  auditors  on  this  occasion,  although  they  occupied 
a  high  place  in  society,  were  both  "of  the  baser  sort." 
They  were  stained  especially  with  cruel  injustice  towards 
others  and  gross  impurity  in  their  own  persons.  These 
specific  vices,  well  known  to  the  preacher,  determined 
no  doubt  the  form  of  his  discourse.  When  he  speaks 
to  a  large  miscellaneous  audience  whose  characters  he 
does  not  know,  he  must  draw  his  bow  at  a  venture,  and 
hope  it  will  hit  some  enemy  of  the  King;  but  when,  as 
in  this  case,  he  sees  clearly  his  object,  he  will  take 
deliberate  aim.  Accordingly,  in  making  justice  and 
personal  purity  the  chief  themes  of  his  address,  Paul 
was  coolly  covering  his  man.  He  preached  to  the  times, 
and  the  place,  and  the  people.  Taking  his  stand  gen- 
erally on  the  eternal  law  of  God,  he  selected  the  two 
specific  aspects  of  it  that  cut  directly  into  the   con- 


Paul  and  Felix.  407 

sciences  of  his  auditors.  He  will  employ  the  law  as  a 
fire  of  coals  piled  on  the  hard  ore  of  the  governor's 
heart,  if  so  be  he  may  make  it  flow  down:  if  he  sees  it 
melting,  he  will  quickly  receive  it  into  the  mould  of  the 
gospel  for  pardon  and  newness  of  life. 

It  is  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  the  discourse,  so 
briefl)'  reported  here,  consists  of  three  consecutive 
heads.  Its  logic  is  better  than  such  an  arrangement 
supposes.  The  sermon  consisted  of  two  heads  and  an 
application.  The  two  heads,  Righteousness  and  Tem- 
perance, are  meant  to  hedge  in  the  governor,  so  that 
his  conscience  cannot  escape  either  on  the  right  hand 
or  on  the  left;  and  the  application — the  judgment  to 
come — is  sent  forward  like  a  flood  of  fire  between  these 
two  walls  to  secure  conviction,  and  utterly  to  slay  the 
old  man  in  the  heart  of  that  chief  sinner.  The  division 
by  the  same  apostle,  in  Tit.  ii.  12,  "  Soberly,  righteously, 
and  godly,"  is  in  substance  the  same,  although  the  two 
main  branches  are  given  in  the  reverse  order.  Witii 
perfect  clearness  and  precision  Paul  divides  the  law 
into  two  parts;  first,  its  aspect  outwards  as  bearing 
on  other  people;  second,  its  aspect  inwards  as  bearing 
on  ourselves.  Towards  other  men,  it  d.t.\xv2.Vi<\s  justness ; 
within  ourselves,  it  demands  purity.  These  are  indi- 
cated by  the  terms  "righteousness"  and  "temperance" 
in  the  reported  discourse. 

Righteousness  needs  no  explanation.  It  means 
what  it  says — rightness,  justness,  in  thought,  word, 
and  deed  towards  all — towards  God  and  towards  man. 
Temperance,  the  other  English  word,  needs  to  be  de- 
fined. It  is  not  employed  here  in  the  modern  and 
narrow  sense  of  mere  freedom  from  all  excess  in  the 
use  of  intoxicants.  It  means  that,  and  more.  Its  clas- 
sical and  New  Testament  signification  is  much  wider 
than  that  which  it  ordinarily  bears  now  in  our  own 
language.  It  means  freedom  from  all  that  defiles;  it 
demands  personal  purity  on  all  sides.  In  this  case, 
although  it  did  not  exclude  what  we  ordinarily  mean 
by  intemperance,  most  certainly  the  licentiousness  of 
the  hearers  was  much  more  prominently  before  the 
preacher's  mind,  and  much  more  specifically  desig- 
nated by  his  word. 

We   know  how  Paul  would   bring   home   the  word 


408  TJic   ChurcJi   in  the  House. 

on  both  sides.  He  would  keep  nothing  back.  He 
strikes  with  a  will.  He  thrusts  the  sword  up  to  the 
hilt.  He  has  no  compassion;  for  he  knows  that  com- 
passion in  this  place  is  unfaithfulness  to  a  fellow-sin- 
ner's soul.  Felix  is  compelled  to  listen;  and,  what  is 
much  more,  Felix  is  compelled  to  listen  with  Secret 
application  of  the  dreadful  word  to  himself.  As  the 
preacher  advanced  from  point  to  point,  the  conscience 
of  the  governor,  as  the  voice  of  God  in  his  breast, 
murmured,  Thou  art  the  man.  On  the  one  side  he 
is  unrighteous;  on  the  other  he  is  impure;  and  when 
the  judgment  to  come  was  pressed  forward,  he  felt 
as  if  an  angel  with  a  flaming  sword  were  approaching 
to  destroy  him,  while  he  had  no  power  to  escape. 

Felix  is  like  a  man  chained  to  the  ground  in  the 
middle  of  the  Mount  Cenis  tunnel.  Above,  below, 
and  on  either  side  he  is  shut  in.  Without  a  figure, 
the  barriers  on  all  sides  are  nothing  else  and  nothing 
less  than  the  everlasting  hills.  While  he  is  chained 
to  the  spot  in  that  dark  avenue,  he  looks  along  the 
gloomy  telescope  tube;  and  lo,  in  the  distance,  a  red 
iiery  spark,  like  a  fixed  star!  It  is  like  an  eye,  all- 
seeing  and  angry,  glaring  on  him  from  afar.  But  as 
he  gazes  on  it,  he  perceives  that  it  is  growing  larger; 
and  oh,  horror !  it  is  advancing.  It  is  coming  with 
express  speed.  It  is  the  fiery  engine  rushing  on- 
rushing  over  him  ! 

Felix  trembled;  and  well  he  might.  He  has  reached 
that  point  in  spiritual  experience  on  which  the  Philip- 
pian  jailer  stood,  when  "  he  called  for  a  light  and 
sprang  in  trembling."  But,  alas !  he  does  not  seek 
relief  from  the  terror  of  conviction  where  the  official 
in  Philippi  sought  and  found  it.  Instead  of  "What 
must  I  do  to  be  saved.''"  it  is,  "Go  thy  way  for  this 
time."  Two  men  may  be  led  by  nearly  the  same  path 
into  those  soul  pangs  which  accompany  conviction  of 
sin;  and  yet  the  two  men  may  follow  opposite  courses, 
in  life,  and  meet  opposite  rewards  in  eternity.  It  is 
not  how  you  fall  into  the  pains  of  conviction  that  fixes 
your  state,  but  how  you  get  out  of  them.  Not  how 
you  were  wounded,  but  how  you  are  healed,  is  the 
turning-point  of  the  loss  or  saving  of  the  soul.  In- 
stead of  seeking  healing  in  accepting  Christ  his  Sa- 


Convictions  Resisted  bear  no  good  Fruit.       409 

viour,  Felix  sought  ease  by  stifling  the  preacher's  voice 
— quenching  the  Spirit  who  spoke  in  the  preacher. 

But  here  a  question  occurs.  As  far  as  the  report  of 
the  sermon  goes,  there  is  no  mention  of  Christ,  and  no 
offej  of  pardon  through  his  blood.  Felix  received  on 
this  occasion  no  such  blessed  word  as  that  which  was 
addressed  to  the  jailer,  "Believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  and  thou  shalt  be  saved."  This  difference  is 
real,  and  it  is  remarkable.  The  reason  of  it  when  dis- 
covered throws  a  flood  of  light  on  Paul's  method  as  a 
preacher  of  Christ.  He  seems  to  have  preached  the 
law,  and  nothing  more,  to  Felix  and  Drusilla;  but  he 
would  have  preached  the  gospel  too,  if  they  had  permit- 
ted him.  He  began  with  the  law  in  order  to  work  con- 
viction of  sin,  ready  to  apply  the  healing  balm  the  mo- 
ment that  the  conscience  was  touched.  The  sermon 
as  far  as  it  went  was  intended  to  inflict  a  wound;  and  the 
foolish  hearer,  when  he  felt  the  pain,  interrupted  the 
speaker,  and  lost  his  opportunity.  Felix  wanted  to 
play  at  preaching;  but  Paul  meant  earnest  work.  Felix 
intended  to  amuse  himself  during  a  leisure  hour;  Paul 
tried  to  save  a  soul  from  death.  Thus  these  two  were 
at  cross  purposes.  But  we  are  sure  from  the  whole 
character  and  life  of  the  apostle  that  he  would  have 
offered  free  pardon  in  Christ  to  the  chief  sinner  who 
sat  before  him,  if  he  had  not  been  abruptly  silenced 
ere  his  work  was  done. 


xcni. 

CONVICTIONS  RESISTED  BEAR  NO   GOOD  FRUIT. 

' '  lid  hoped  also  that  money  should  have  been  given  him  of  Paul, 
that  he  might  loose  him:  ivherefore  he  sent  for  him  the  oftener,  and 
communed  -with  him.  But  after  two  years  Porcius  Festus  came  into 
Frlix^  room:  and  Felix,  willing  to  show  the  yews  a  pleasure,  left  Paul 
bound. " — Acts  xxiv.  26,  27. 

The  seed  was  good  and  the  sower  skilful,  yet  no  fruit 
followed. 

For  one  thing,  the  hearer  of  the  Word  on  that  occa- 


4IO  ,        The   Church   in  the  House. 

sion  did  not  seek  spiritual  benefit,  and  that  is  at  least 
in  part  the  reason  why  he  did  not  obtain  it.  A  plan 
and  a  purpose  are  necessary  on  the  part  of  the  hearer, 
as  well  as  on  that  of  the  preacher.  The  promise  is, 
"  Seek,  and  ye  shall  find."  Those  who  omit  the  con- 
dition, have  no  right  to  expect  the  result. 

Further,  bad  company  in  this  case  contributed  to 
the  failure.  Felix  and  Drusilla,  Avere  both  steeped  in 
wickedness.  It  is  more  difficult  for  Felix  to  yield  and 
admit  conviction  in  presence  of  his  profligate  compan- 
ion. If  he  had  shown  symptoms  of  repenting,  this  bold 
bad  woman  was  ready  with  her  fiercest  look  and  her 
most  contemptuous  sneer.  Oh  that  the  poor  man  had 
been  alone,  or  had  been  surrounded  by  companions 
who  would  have  encouraged  him  to  turn  and  live  ! 
Many  promising  impressions  have  been  nipped  in  the 
bud  by  the  scoff  of  worldly  companions. 

When  convictions  spring  up  as  in  this  case,  taking  the 
shape  of  terror  in  prospect  of  the  judgment-seat,  there 
must  and  will  be  a  rapid  movement,  either  backward 
or  forward.  It  is  as  if  fire  were  falling  on  the  spot  where 
you  stand,  and  you  must  instantly  escape  from  it.  You 
will  go  either  nearer  to  the  God  whom  you  fear,  or 
further  away  from  him.  If  you  get  a  glimpse  of  his  love 
in  Christ,  you  will  bound  forward  in  order  to  hide  from 
all  fears  in  his  Divine  compassion;  but  if  you  get  no 
such  view  of  his  mercy,  the  terror  of  the  Lord  will  drive 
you  into  vanities  or  vice,  as  a  cover  from  the  light  oi 
his  countenance.  For  such  a  case  the  Word  of  Christ 
was  spoken  and  written — "  Come  unto  me,  all  ye 
that  labor  and  are  heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give 
you  rest." 

The  subterfuge  of  Felix — "  When  I  have  a  conve- 
nient season,  I  will  call  for  thee  " — was  natural  in  the 
circumstances,  but  false  and  shallow.  He  made  a 
})romise  which  he  did  not  mean  to  fulfil.  If  Paul  has 
rightly  presented  the  reckoning,  now  is  the  most,  the 
only  convenient  time  for  getting  it  settled.  Now  is 
the  day  of  salvation;  the  gospel  does  not  know  to- 
morrow. Let  any  one  who  in  modern  times  is  in- 
clined to  follow  this  ancient  example  of  procrastina- 
tion, think  for  a  moment  why  he  desires  delay.  Is  it 
that  you  may  enjoy  the  pleasures  of  sin  a  little  longer.'' 


Convictions  Resisted  bear  no  good  Fruit.       41 1 

But  the  case  will  not  bear  reasoning'.  It  is  false  from 
the  foundation.  You,  the  guilty  and  condemned,  are 
invited,  besought,  to  accept  instant  and  full  pardon 
and  peace  with  God  free  through  the  Redeemer;  and 
you  beg  to  be  excused — you  plead  for  a  little  delay,  as 
if  you  had  been  summoned  to  the  scaffold.  The  plead- 
ing for  delay  is  as  much  as  to  tell  God  to  his  face  that 
the  pardon  and  peace  which  he  offers  you  count  a  ca- 
lamity, and  if  you  must  endure  them  sometime,  you 
would  fain  put  the  evil  day  afar  off.  True  repentance 
does  not  covet — it  dreads  delay. 

It  is  dangerous  to  stifle  convictions  thus.  The  con- 
science cannot  be  so  treated  with  impunity.  When  it 
is  not  listened  to,  it  loses  its  sensitiveness  and  vitality. 
It  will  not  give  its  testimony  so  clearly  the  next  time. 
When  a  bar  of  iron  is  made  red-hot  and  plunged  into 
water,  and  that  process  is  several  times  repeated,  it  be- 
comes hard  and  brittle;  it  may  be  easily  broken  now, 
but  cannot  be  bent.  In  some  such  way  the  conscience 
is  seared  by  stifling  convictions  of  sin. 

The  facts  that  immediately  follow  the  dismissal  of 
the  preacher  bear  directly  and  decisively  on  a  question 
of  universal  and  cardinal  interest  in  religious  affairs, — 
the  question  whether  a  religion  of  terror  produces  any 
permanent  good  moral  effect.  Superficial  inquirers, 
who  examine  the  gospel  from  a  point  of  view  outside 
of  its  boundaries,  cling  to  the  conviction  that  it  is 
dangerous  to  withdraw  the  fear  of  punishment.  They 
think  this  fear  is  necessary  to  keep  men  from  trans- 
gression. This  is  a  mistake;  but  neither  human  in- 
stinct nor  human  philosophy  possesses  the  means  of 
correcting  it.  It  cannot  be  corrected  except  by  the 
experience  of  a  more  excellent  way.  The  old  ques- 
tion, "  Do  we  make  void  the  law  through  faith  .''  "  can- 
not be  answered  except  from  the  Christian  view-point 
— "  God  forbid:  yea,  we  establish  the  law." 

The  Popery  of  the  Middle  Ages  maintained  a  re- 
ligion of  terror.  The  priests  kept  the  line  in  their  own 
hands,  and  by  means  of  confession  and  purgatory  im- 
agined they  had  the  hook  in  Leviathan's  jaws.  But 
Leviathan  could  not  be  bridled  in  by  such  childish 
machinery.  Sin  in  humanity,  like  a  sea-monster  in 
its  element,  was  too  strong  for  these  green  withes. 


412  TJie  Cliurch  in  the  House. 

The  evil  spirit  in  man  said,  "Jesus  I  know,  and  Paul  I 
know,  but  who  are  you  ?  " 

God's  method  of  binding  souls  to  obedience  is  sim- 
ilar to  his  method  of  keeping  the  planets  in  their  orbits 
— that  is,  by  flinging  them  out  free.  You  see  no  chain 
keeping  back  these  shining  worlds  to  prevent  them 
from  bursting  away  from  their  centre.  They  are  held 
in  the  grasp  of  an  invisible  principle,  which  we  call  the 
law  of  gravitation;  and  it  is  by  the  invisible  bond  of 
love — love  to  the  Lord  who  bought  them — that  ran- 
somed men  are  constrained  to  live  soberly  and  right- 
eously and  godly.  "Neither  do  I  condemn  you:  go 
and  sin  no  more;  "  such  is  the  method  by  which  Jesus 
bound  a  chief  sinner  to  obedience.  He  trusts  that  his 
free  gift  of  pardon  will  generate  a  love  in  the  sinner's 
breast,  which  will  constrain  him,  like  gravitation,  to 
keep  the  law. 

Let  us  see  whether  the  terror  of  Felix  in  the  pros- 
pect of  judgment  produced  any  good  effect  on  his  mor- 
als. Two  specimens  of  the  man's  life  are  with  great 
simplicity  subjoined,  and  from  these  we  learn  that  his 
fright  had  not  made  him  a  better  man.  In  ver.  26,  we 
learn  that  the  governor,  who  never  found  a  more  con- 
venient season  for  hearing  the  Word,  summoned  Paul 
the  prisoner  often  into  his  presence  for  another  purpose. 
He  expected  a  bribe,  and  meanly  condescended  to  give 
the  innocent  prisoner  many  a  hint  that  a  man  like  him 
need  not  languish  in  confinement,  while  his  numerous 
and  ardent  admirers  had  plenty  of  money  in  their  hands. 
Next,  in  ver.  27,  we  learn  that,  at  the  end  of  two  years, 
when  Felix  was  recalled  from  the  province,  instead  of 
setting  Paul  at  liberty  as  a  man  against  whom  no  crime 
had  been  proved,  he  handed  him  over  to  his  successor, 
still  a  prisoner,  because  he  saw  that  the  act  would  be 
popular  with  the  fanatic  Jewish  mob.  Considering  the 
position  of  Felix  as  governor  and  judge,  no  fouler  deed 
could  possibly  be  recorded  against  him.  Such  is  the 
fruit  borne  by  an  evil  tree  after  it  has  been  deeply  cut 
by  the  axe,  but  not  cut  through  and  made  good  by  the 
engrafting  of  another.  Such  is  the  fruit  that  the  con- 
victions of  a  wicked  man  bear  when  they  have  been 
arrested  and  not  permitted  to  grow  into  conversion, 
Such  is  the  result  of  terror  where  there  is  not  faith. 


Tlic   Nciv   Governor.  413 

One  would  like  to  know  the  history  of  that  centu- 
rion who  had  charge  of  the  missionary  during  those  two 
years  at  Ca^sarea,  and  also  of  the  soldiers  of  his  com- 
pany who  acted  by  turns  as  the  apostle's  sentinel.  The 
\c\\  has  not  been  lifted  up.  The  result  of  intercourse 
with  Paul  day  by  day  for  so  long  a  period  will  not  be 
known  till  the  day  declare  it;  but  I  think  when  it  is 
declared,  it  will  be  a  glory  to  the  Lord  and  a  crown  of 
joy  to  his  servant.  Not  a  few  in  the  ranks  of  the  Ro- 
man army  were  converted  during  the  life-time  of  the 
apostle.  Even  in  Caesar's  household  at  Rome  there 
were  disciples  of  Jesus,  sending  their  greetings  to  fel- 
low-disciples in  other  lands.  There  is  much  probabil- 
ity that  the  Word  of  life  would  win  the  officer  who  had 
charge  of  Paul  at  Ca^sarea.  Ward  and  warder  have 
both  gone  long  ago  to  their  account;  and  from  the  an- 
alogy of  other  cases,  it  is  lawful  to  indulge  the  fond 
hope  that  these  two  men,  who  often  promenaded  to- 
gether the  coast  of  the  Mediterranean,  or  gazed  from 
the  battlements  of  Herod's  judgment-hall  on  the  sun 
setting  in  the  western  sea,  gaze  together  now  with 
clearer  eyesight  on  greater  wonders,  before  the  great 
white  throne. 


XCIV. 

THE  NEW  GOVERNOR. 

' '  Nozu  when  Fesltis  tads  come  i7ito  the  province,  after  three  days 
he  ascended  from  Ccesarea  to  jferusale/n.  Then  the  high  priest  and 
the  chief  of  the  yews  informed  him  against  Paul,  and  besought  him, 
and  desired  favor  against  him,  that  he  would  send  for  him  to  Jeru- 
salem, laying  wait  in  the  way  to  kill  him,'' ^  etc. — ACTS  X.W. 

There  was  a  change  of  government.  Felix  was  re- 
called, and  Festus  succeeded  him  as  procurator  of 
Judaea.  The  new  governor  coming  from  Italy  by  sea, 
landed  at  Caesarea,  remained  at  that  port  three  days, 
and  then  went  up  to  Jerusalem.  Doubtless  he  desired 
to  inform  himself  regarding  the  state  of  parties  among 


^14  TJie   ChurcJi   in  the  House. 

the  Jews  in  the  interior  that  he  might  be  able  more 
intelligently  to  administer  the  government  at  Caesarea. 

We  may  find  an  analogous  case  on  a  much  larger  scale 
in  our  own  administration  of  India.  The  new  governor 
arrives  at  Calcutta,  a  city  of  recent  origin,  built  by  the 
dominating  power  on  navigable  waters,  as  the  seat  of 
authority.  But  he  will  do  well,  soon  after  his  arrival, 
to  make  a  progress  into  the  interior — to  visit  Benares, 
Delhi,  Lahore — the  great  capitals  of  the  native  races, 
or  the  seats  of  their  religious  worship.  It  is  there  that 
he  may  best  learn  the  disposition  of  the  natives,  and 
the  condition  of  the  country,  thus  qualifying  himself  to 
conduct  the  machinery  of  government.  A  very  nec- 
essary precaution,  as  we  know  to  our  cost:  greased 
cartridges  may  kindle  a  rebellion. 

In  this  spirit  Festus  visited  Jerusalem  almost  imme- 
diately after  his  arrival  in  the  country,  that  he  might 
take  the  measure  of  men  and  of  parties  in  the  Jewish 
capital;  and  so  be  prepared  to  adopt  such  measures  as 
should  be  most  likely  to  calm  the  boding  discontent 
of  a  subjugated  nation.  As  soon  as  the  governor  ap- 
peared in  Jerusalem,  the  high  priest  and  his  party 
approached  him  with  the  view  of  securing  his  ear 
against  Paul.  How  eagerly  they  hunt  him  down  !  It 
appears  as  if  these  men  could  not  sleep  soundly  on 
God's  earth  as  long  as  the  missionary  of  the  cross 
lived  on  it.  He  was  cherishing  the  bud  of  Judaism 
into  its  natural  fruit;  but  to  develop  the  germ  into  the 
full  gospel  would  cast  off  these  usurpers  who  sat  there 
in  Moses'  seat:  Paul  had  no  mercy  either  on  their  greed 
or  their  superstitions;  therefore  they  were  bent  on  his 
ruin.  This  process  has  repeated  itself  down  through 
the  dark  ages.  Persecutions  have  seeded  themselves 
from  that  generation  to  this,  as  surely  as  thistles — and 
as  mischievously. 

The  priest  party  endeavored  to  induce  the  governor 
to  summon  Paul  to  Jerusalem  to  be  tried.  They  had 
their  own  reason  for  this:  they  meant  to  revive  the 
scheme  of  assassination.  Festus,  however,  was  firm: 
Let  the  prisoner  remain  at  Caesarea;  I  shall  shortly 
take  up  my  residence  there;  let  his  accusers  come 
thither  to  conduct  the  prosecution  against  him  in  the 
ordinary  form.     It  was  of  the  Lord  that  Festus,  though 


The  y^cii'   Governor.  415 

unaware,  apparciUh-,  of  their  designs,  refused  to  com- 
ply with  them.  I'robabl)'  his  reasons  for  refusing  were 
very  prosaic  and  commonplace.  He  was  a  stranger; 
he  did  not  feel  at  home  amongst  the  Jewish  dignitaries 
in  their  sacred  city.  The  permanent  officers  of  the 
government  who  in  such  cases  must  be  his  councillors 
were  resident  in  Cfesarea.  His  legal  advisers  were 
there.  No;  he  will  not  summon  the  prisoner  to  Jeru- 
salem, and  begin  his  judicial  career  in  such  adverse  cir- 
cumstances; he  will  rather  go  down  to  the  seat  of 
government.  With  all  his  officers  around  him,  he  will 
more  firmly  plant  the  first  steps  of  his  course  in  the 
administration  of  the  country.  When  the  Supreme  has 
a  purpose  to  be  accomplished,  he  has  instruments  at 
hand,  whether  the  elements  of  nature,  or  the  thoughts 
that  spring  secretly  in  human  hearts. 

By  arrangement,  no  doubt,  between  the  prosecutors 
and  the  judge,  Paul's  case  was  called  on  the  very  day 
after  the  governor  had  returned  to  Caesarea.  He  gave 
his  first  attention  to  the  case  which  the  Jewish  author- 
ities first  pressed  upon  his  attention.  The  court  was 
constituted,  and  the  pleadings  on  both  sides  heard; 
but  the  trial  instituted  with  so  much  formality  came 
to  nothing.  Instead  of  pronouncing  judgment  on  the 
evidence,  Festus  suddenly  demanded  of  the  prisoner, 
whether  he  would  consent  to  go  up  to  Jerusalem,  and 
there  be  tried  in  his  presence. 

This  may  have  been  an  honest  proposal,  founded 
on  real  reasons;  for  Festus  may  have  discovered  grad- 
ually as  the  pleadings  went  on  that  the  case  in  its  own 
nature  belonged  to  the  ecclesiastical  court  of  the  San- 
hedrim, and  that  he,  as  a  Roman,  was  not  competent 
to  pronounce  in  it  an  intelligent  judgment.  The  re- 
quest, "Wilt  thou  go  up  to  Jerusalem  and  there  be 
judged  of  these  things  before  me  .''  "  may  mean  that  the 
Jewish  Sanhedrim  should  try  the  cause  under  the  su- 
perintendence and  in  presence  of  the  governor.  But 
there  is  also  too  good  reason  to  believe  that  the  en- 
emies of  Paul  had,  in  the  interval,  obtained  access  to  the 
governor,  and  gained  him  over.  At  all  events,  at  Cais- 
area  he  himself  proposed  the  very  measure  which  at 
Jerusalem  he  rejected. 

This  was  the  turning-point;  and  the  crisis  could  no 


•4.16  TJic   CJiw'ch   in  the  House. 

longer  be  averted.  While  Paul  was  a  man  of  strong 
faith,  he  was  also  a  man  of  strong  reason.  He  Avas 
cool  and  clear;  he  measured  men,  and  framed  his  own 
plans  with  consummate  political  skill.  Finding  now 
that  he  had  no  other  shield  between  his  life  and  the 
assassin's  dagger,  Paul  launched  at  length  the  bolt  he 
he  had  long  kept  concealed, — "  I  appeal  unto  Caesar." 

During  the  period  of  the  republic,  an  appeal  lay  to 
the  people,  or  the  tribunes  their  representatives;  but 
now  all  these  rights  were  vested  in  the  emperor.  Or- 
dinary provincials  were  entirely  in  the  power  of  the 
governor,  but  those  who  possessed  the  privilege  of 
Roman  citizens  enjoyed  the  right  of  appeal.  In  Ori- 
ental romance  you  often  meet  with  a  traveller  who 
possesses  a  mysterious  talisman,  which  he  always 
carries  about,  capable  of  preserving  his  life  in  the 
last  extremity.  The  owner  of  the  charm  abstains 
from  using  it  in  ordinary  dangers;  and  it  is  only  when 
all  other  hope  fails  that  at  last  he  brings  it  forth.  The 
right  of  appeal  to  the  emperor  was  Paul's  talisman;  it 
was  employed  only  in  the  last  resort.  But  it  was  effect- 
ual. It  represented  the  Roman  empire;  it  wielded  the 
power  paramount  of  the  world.  Neither  Festus  on  the 
one  had,  nor  the  Jewish  rulers  on  the  other,  dared  to 
touch  a  hair  of  the  prisoner's  head  while  he  lay  under 
the  shelter  of  imperial  law. 

There  is»  a  grand  burst  of  indignation  accompany- 
ing the  appeal.  This  man  does  well  to  be  angry;  he 
spares  neither  his  judge  nor  his  accusers.  "  To  the 
Jews  have  I  done  no  wrong,  as  thou  very  well  knowest." 
In  consenting,  contrary  to  his  own  first  judgment,  to 
remove  the  diet  to  Jerusalem,  Festus  had  in  effect  agreed 
to  deliver  the  victim  into  the  murderers'  hands;  and 
so  now  it  behoved  Paul  to  protect  himself  from  the 
Roman  procurator,  as  well  as  from  the  Jewish  priests. 
By  the  constitution  of  the  empire,  a  provincial  judge 
might,  on  his  own  responsibility,  refuse  the  privilege 
of  appeal  to  notorious  criminals,  although  their  names 
were  inscribed  on  the  roll  of  citizens;  but  it  was  plain 
enough  on  all  sides  that  Paul  was  no  criminal — no 
reckless  disturber  of  the  peace.  He  was  evidently  a 
man  of  purity  and  power.  If  the  governor,  yielding 
to  the  importunity  of  the  Jews,  venture   to   override 


The   Nnv   Governor.  417 

this  citizen's  rights,  the  act  reported  at  Rome  will  re- 
bound with  damaging  effect  on  his  own  head.  The 
legal  assessors  of  the  governor,  on  being  consulted 
(ver.  12),  advised  that  it  would  not  be  safe  to  ignore 
the  privileges  of  the  appellant.  Thus  man  proposes;  but 
God  disposes.  All  things  were  ordered  so  as  to  bear 
the  apostle  of  the  Gentiles  to  the  metropolis  of  the 
Gentile  world. 

The  decision  of  the  court  is  pronounced:  "  Hast  thou 
appealed  unto  Ccesar  1  Unto  Cresar  shalt  thou  go." 
Paul,  for  his  part,  must  have  heard  the  words  with  pro- 
found emotion;  but  the  prevailing  element  was  joy.  At 
length,  according  to  his  own  long-cherished  desire,  and 
the  Saviours  gracious  promise,  he  has  the  assured  pros- 
pect of  reaching  Rome.  He  will  get  a  free  passage  at 
the  emperor's  expense,  while  he  travels  on  the  business 
of  the  heavenly  King. 

Not  long  after  this  event,  Herod  Agrippa — son  of 
that  Herod  who  beheaded  the  Baptist — who  by  favor 
of  the  emperor  ruled  over  a  portion  of  Syria  with  the 
title  of  king,  came  to  Caesarea,  on  a  visit  of  ceremony 
to  the  new  governor.  Precisely  in  the  same  manner 
the  various  dependent  sovereigns,  who  are  still  permit- 
ted to  retain  authority  in  various  portions  of  our  Indian 
empire,  assemble  to  pay  their  respects  to  the  viceroy 
appointed  by  the  queen.  He  politely  acknowledges 
their  dignities  in  presence  of  the  natives;  but  they  un- 
derstand well  enough  that  they  hold  their  crown.'i  at 
the  disposal  of  the  power  which  he  represents. 

Although  by  birth  an  Idumean,  and  educated  at 
Rome,  Agrippa  was  a  Jew  by  adoption.  On  this  visit 
he  was  accompanied  by  Bernice,  in  what  capacity  the 
Scripture  does  not  say;  but  it  is  abundantly  testified 
by  contemporary  history  that  vices  were  involved  in 
their  relations  which  ought  not  even  to  be  named 
amongst  Christians.  The  bad  fame  of  this  woman  for 
unblushing  effrontery  in  the  practice  of  complicated 
and  shameful  vice,  was  proverbial  in  those  regions  and 
times. 

Another  scene  ensues,  in  some  respects  similar  to 
that  of  Paul  and  Felix;  and  yet,  both  in  its  subjects 
and  results,  exhibiting  several  features  in  marked  con- 
trast with  its  predecessor.     But  in  the  essential  fea- 


41 8  TJie   ChurcJi  in  the  House. 

tures  these  two  episodes  hang  like  companion  pictures 
on  the  wall.  Agrippa,  like  Felix,  sought,  not  the  par- 
don of  sin,  but  the  gratification  of  curiosity;  and  he 
fared  accordingly.  "Blessed  are  they  that  hunger." 
But  this  man  was  not  blessed;  he  died,  not  for  want  of 
food,  but  for  want  of  hunger.  This  is  a  disease  that 
wastes  the  world  still. 


XCV. 

THE   GOSPEL   FULFILS    THE  LAW. 

"  Then  Agrippa  said  ttnto  Paul,  Thou  art  permitted  to  speak  for 
thyself.  Then  Paul  stretched  forth  the  hand,  and  answered  for  him- 
self:''' etc.— Acts,  xxvi.  i-i6. 

Paul's  address  before  Festus  and  Agrippa  is  recorded 
with  considerable  fulness.  It  is  in  form,  as  well  as 
substance,  an  apology  for  Christianity,  adapted  to  the 
audience  and  the  times. 

In  determining  his  ground,  he  adheres  closely  to  his 
former  line  of  defence.  He  does  not  demand  the  sanc- 
tion of  imperial  law  for  the  introduction  of  a  new  relig- 
ion; he  takes  his  stand  on  the  fact  that  the  Jewish  re- 
ligion is  a  lawful  worship,  and  argues  that  the  gospel, 
being  a  legitimate  development  of  Judaism,  is  already 
sanctioned.  His  language  is  not.  Tolerate  the  religion 
wdiich  I  proclaim;  but,  My  religion  is  already  tolerated 
by  the  laws  of  the  state. 

The  first  premise  of  his  argument,  the  Jewish  re- 
ligion is  tolerated  in  the  empire,  was  not  disputed;  the 
second,  I  am  of  the  Jewish  religion,  is  the  point  on  which 
the  great  apologist  on  this  occasion  puts  forth  his 
strength.  This,  although  debated  in  a  Roman  court, 
was  a  question  between  Jews  and  Christians.  The 
Jews  accused  the  Christians  of  having  apostatized 
from  the  tolerated  faith;  it  was  Paul's  business,  there- 
fore, to  refute  this  accusation — to  prove  that  in  ac- 
cepting  Christ   he  did   not   renounce   Moses,   and    so 


The   Gospel  fulfil s   the  Law.  419 

make  good  his  claim  to  the  protection  of  the  govern- 
ment under  existing  laws. 

Thus,  the  form  which  the  question  that  day  as- 
sumed, makes  the  apostle's  reasoning  on  it  very  pre- 
cious to  the  Church  in  all  ages.  Circumstances  led 
him  to  show  that  the  gospel  sprang  necessarily  from 
the  law,  as  the  stalks  and  ears  of  harvest  from  the 
seed  of  spring. 

Starting  from  the  notorious  fact,  that  in  his  youth 
he  was  himself  a  Jew,  he  proves,  by  a  narrative  of  the 
case,  that  he  had  never  changed;  that  his  progress, 
instead  of  being  an  apostasy,  had  been  the  develop- 
ment and  glory  of  all  the  Old  Testament  revelation. 

In  this  aspect,  the  progress  of  revelation  is  some- 
what like  the  progress  of  a  plant  that  grows  from  seed. 
The  first  stage  is  in  appearance  very  different  from  the 
second.  The  leaves  subsequently  unfolded  are  not  a 
mere  repetition  of  their  predecessors.  Suppose  a  per- 
son altogether  unacquainted  with  the  processes  of 
vegetation  has  obtained  some  seed,  which  he  believes 
to  be  precious,  from  a  foreign  land.  He  sows  it  in 
his  garden,  and  watches  its  springing  and  growth. 
After  having  seen  its  first  leaves  spread  out,  he  is 
called  from  home.  The  plants  are  left  under  the 
charge  of  a  skilful  and  faithful  servant,  and  the  owner 
does  not  see  them  again  for  a  month.  On  his  return 
he  visits  the  garden  to  mark  the  progress  of  his  valued 
foreign  plants.  He  finds  them  growing  indeed  on  the 
same  spot,  but  entirely  changed.  These  are  not  my 
plants  !  he  exclaims.  I  left  them  with  leaves  smooth 
and  almost  circular;  these  leaves  are  downy,  corru- 
gated, and  sharply  indented  on  all  sides.  He  thinks 
the  gardener  has  removed  the  original  germs,  and 
substituted  others  of  a  different  kind  in  their  place. 
The  mistake  is  due  to  the  ignorance  of  the  proprietor; 
the  servant  has  been  faithful  to  his  charge.  The 
owner  ignorantly  mistakes  a  natural  development  for 
a  dishonest  change. 

The  Sanhedrim  represents  the  prejudiced  house- 
holder, and  Paul  stands  for  the  faithful  steward.  The 
gospel  which  Paul  preached  was  not  indeed  a  mere  re- 
production of  the  Mosaic  institutes;  it  was  the  growth 
of  that  germ  into  foliage,  flowers,  and  fruit.     All  the 


420  TJie   Church   in  the  House. 

sacrifices  are  promises.  The  Sanhedrim,  in  their  blind 
zeal,  would  grasp  these  promise-buds,  and  hold  them 
tight,  and  never  permit  them  to  open;  Paul  would 
leave  these  precious  buds  free  under  the  sun  and  air 
of  heaven,  and  watch  to  see  whereunto  they  would 
grow. 

Pa  al  held  fast  the  hope  of  the  promise.  It  was 
not  a  new  or  strange  doctrine  that  he  proclaimed. 
It  was  the  promise  made  to  the  fathers.  He  was 
aware,  while  he  spoke,  that  his  doctrine  involved  the 
resurrection  of  the  dead.  The  resurrection  of  the  dead 
in  general,  and  the  resurrection  of  Christ  in  particular, 
are  bound  up  together.  To  deny  the  possibility  of  a 
resurrection,  involves  the  rejection  of  Christ;  for,  if 
the  dead  rise  not,  then  is  Christ  not  risen.  There  is 
reason  to  believe  that  the  Herodian  family,  of  whom 
Agrippa  was,  at  that  time,  the  head,  had  imbibed 
Sadducean  views.  As  the  king  enjoyed,  by  favor  cf 
the  Roman  emperor,  the  right  of  nominating  the  high 
priest,  the  Sadducees,  under  this  ancient  specimen 
of  lay  patronage,  would  probably  obtain  most  of  the 
chief  preferments.  Paul  plainly  assumes  that  Agrippa 
was  a  Sadducee,  and  endeavors  to  change  the  king's 
dark  belief  "  Why  should  it  be  thought  a  thing  in- 
credible with  you,  that  God  should  raise  the  dead  .^ " 
The  actual  resurrection  of  Jesus,  when  accepted,  demol- 
ishes the  foundation-stone  of  the  Sadducean  system. 

Once  more,  on  a  great  public  arena,  the  apostle  nar- 
rates his  own  conversion.  He  relies  mightily  on  this  as 
an  instrument  in  his  ministry.  In  order  to  provide  a 
fulcrum  for  his  lever,  he  carefully  notes,  at  the  outset, 
that  he  too  was  once  against  Jesus  of  Nazareth.  And 
here  the  grand  natural  character  of  Saul  emerges  in 
striking  outlines.  What  he  thought  to  be  his  duty, 
that  he  resolutely  performed.  He  thought  the  disci- 
ples of  Jesus  were  a  sect  of  deceivers,  and  therefore  he 
determined  to  hunt  them  down.  This  is  the  essence 
of  persecution  in  every  age.  It  is  a  conviction  lodged 
;n  a  strong  but  unenlightened  mind,  that  those  who  re- 
fuse cornpliance  with  the  authorized  orthodoxy  should 
be  put  to  death.  It  is  that  grim  sense  of  duty,  com- 
bined with  a  perverted  religious  belief,  that  has  done 
all  the  killing  of  the  saints.     While  Paul  was  an   unbe- 


Tlic  Gospd  fulfils  the  Laiv.  42  \ 

liever,  he  thought  it  right  to  put  the  disciples  of  Christ 
to  death,  and  he  acted  on  his  conviction;  but  when  he 
became  himself  a  disciple,  he  changed  not  only  his  side, 
but  his  method.  After  he  became  a  Christian,  he  be- 
lieved that  the  unbelieving  Jews  erred  fatally  in  their 
faith;  but  we  never  hear  a  whisper  of  any  desire  on  his 
j)art  to  put  them  in  prison,  or  to  take  away  their  lives. 
Christ  made  him  free,  and  when  he  was  delivered  from 
condemnation,  his  law  was  love.  This  experience  has 
been  repeated  in  more  recent  times.  As  long  as  the 
superstition  of  Rome  was  predominant  in  Europe,  it 
put  heretics  to  death;  when  the  Reformation  triumphed, 
argument  came  in  place  of  the  stake.  It  is  remarkable 
how  directly  contrary  are  the  maxims  of  Rome  to  the 
precepts  of  the  gospel.  See  (Titus  iii.  10)  a  specific 
instruction  to  Christians  how  they  ought  to  treat  those 
who  maintain  erroneous  doctrine;  "A  man  that  is  an 
heretic  after  the  first  and  second  admonition  reject." 
Paul  says,  exclude  him  from  your  communion;  Rome 
says,  burn  him  at  a  stake. 

We  obtain  an  incidental  hint  here  regarding  the 
methods  of  torture  adopted  by  ancient  Jewish  inquisi- 
tors— "  I  compelled  them  to  blaspheme."  It  is  not 
said  that  Christians  under  that  cruel  compulsion  actu- 
ally blasphemed  the  holy  name  whereby  they  were 
called.  The  persecutor  endeavored  to  force  them  to  a 
denial  of  the  Lord,  but  he  did  not  succeed.  The 
heathen  magistrates  during  the  first  three  centuries 
adopted  precisely  the  same  plan,  with  the  same  result. 
The  martyrs  suffered,  but  would  not  sin. 


422  The   Chiu-cJi  in  the  Hoiise. 

XCVI. 

KNOWING    THE   TRUE,   AND  DOING    THE   RIGHT. 

"  To  open  their  eyes,  and  to  turn  them  from  darkness  to  light,  and 
from  the  poTver  of  Satan  unto  God,  that  they  may  receive  forgiveness 
of  sins,  and  inheritance  among  them  which  are  sanctified  by  faith  that 
is  in  me." — Acts  xxvi.  i8. 

Some  additional  "words  of  the  Lord  Jesus,"  addressed 
to  the  stricken  persecutor  near  the  gate  of  Damascus, 
have  been  preserved  for  us  in  the  defence  before  Agrip- 
pa.  The  design  of  the  Lord  in  calling  this  man  is 
clearly  and  minutely  specified, — "To  open  their  eyes, 
and  to  turn  them  from  darkness  to  light,  and  from  the 
power  of  Satan  unto  God,  that  they  may  receive  for- 
giveness of  sins,  and  inheritance  among  them  which 
are  sanctified  by  faith  that  is  in  me." 

Limiting  our  view,  in  the  first  instance,  to  the 
description  here  given  of  the  saving  change  wrought 
in  the  man  at  his  conversion,  we  find  that  it  consists 
of  two  parts, — the  enlightenment  of  the  mind,  and  the 
renewing  of  the  life.  These  two  parts  may  be  sepa- 
rately expressed,  but  they  cannot  separately  exist. 
They  may  be  expounded  as  successive  topics;  but 
they  must  be  gained  together  as  parallel  attainments. 
You  do  not  first  get  your  eyes  opened,  and  thereafter 
your  heart  and  life  turned  round;  neither  do  you  prac- 
tically turn  first,  and  intelligently  observe  afterwards. 
The  opening  helps  you  to  turn,  but  the  turning  also 
helps  you  to  open.  In  the  Christian  life  true  under- 
standing and  right  action  go  together,  as  the  right  and 
left  side  of  a  living  man.  The  regeneration  is  made  up 
of  truth  and  righteousness.  Like  the  rays  of  light  and 
rays  of  heat  which  proceed  in  company  from  the  sun, 
they  may  be  distinguished  by  philosophical  analysis, 
but  can  never  be  separated  in  fact.  The  more  that  I 
actually  turn  from  the  power  of  Satan,  the  more  do  1 
intelligently  perceive  and  appreciate  God's  truth;  and 
the  more  that  I  know  of  God's  truth  in  my  mind,  the 


A'/ukl'/h^  the  True,  and  doing  the  Right.       423 

more  do  I  turn  from  wickedness  in  my  life.  An  artist 
may  first  paint  a  man's  body,  expressing  the  form  and 
action  of  every  limb,  and  thereafter  attach  the  head;  or 
he  may  portray  first  the  countenance,  v/ith  the  expres- 
sion of  every  feature  complete,  and  thereafter  represent 
the  body.  But  there  is  a  great  difference  between  the 
methods  of  nature  and  of  art.  The  man  was  not  made 
as  he  was  painted.  From  the  dim  deep  of  non-existence, 
the  being  emerges,  minute,  but  not  mutilated.  Head 
and  body  are  small  and  shadowy  at  first,  but  head  and 
body  are  both  there,  and  both  grow  together  unto 
perfection.  So  grows  also  the  new  man.  It  is  not  first 
the  body  of  right  life  brought  to  perfection,  and  there- 
after the  spiritual  understanding  attained;  nor  is  the 
spiritual  understanding  first  attained,  and  thereafter 
the  body  of  a  right  conduct  added.  Both,  and  both 
together,  emerge  in  embryo,  under  the  great  Creator's 
hand,  and  both  grow  together,  up  to  the  stature  of  a 
perfect  man  in  Christ, — a  man  who  knows  God's  will, 
and  therefore  does  it;  does  it,  and  therefore  knows  it. 
Having  once  stated  the  necessary  connection  and  re- 
ciprocal influence  of  these  two,  we  may  now  consider 
them  separately  in  succession. 

To  open  their  eyes,  although  a  figurative  expression 
here,  scarcely  requires  any  exposition.  It  is  that  aspect 
of  the  Spirit's  regenerating  work  which  concerns  the 
knowing  of  saving  truth.  It  is  the  work  of  regeneration 
as  it  affects  the  understanding:  it  is  that  unction  of  the 
Holy  One  which  enables  the  renewed  to  know  all  things 
that  God  has  revealed  for  his  own  glory  and  men's  good. 
The  practical  turning,  on  the  other  hand,  being  per- 
haps more  difficult  of  comprehension,  is  here  more  fully 
expressed.  There  is  only  one  turning;  but  you  turn 
from  two  things,  and  tozvard  two  things.  At  least  two 
expressions  are  employed  to  indicate  what  you  turn 
from,  and  as  many  to  indicate  what  you  turn  to, — 

From  Darkness  and  the  poiver  of  Satan; 

To  Light  and  God. 
The  things  on  this  side  seem  two;  and  the  things  on 
that  side  seem  two:  yet  on  either  side  there  is  sub- 
stantially only  one.  God  and  Light  do  not  here  re- 
present separate  and  different  objects;  for  God  is  Light: 
Darkness  and  X.\\q  power  of  Satan  do  not  here  represent 


424  The   CJiitrcJi   in  the  House. 

separate  and  different  objects;  for  the  power  of  Satan 
is  Darkness. 

According  to  the  word  of  Christ  the  Master,  the 
foremost  part  of  tlie  servant's  work  is  to  turn  men 
from  darkness  and  the  power  of  Satan.  When  the  Sa- 
viour's word  goes  forth  upon  the  world,  it  finds  all 
standing  with  the  face  to  darkness  and  the  back  to 
light,  therefore  the  foundation  of  all  true  preaching  is, 
Tiu'Ji:  "  Turn  ye,  turn  ye,  why  will  ye  die  .■* "  was  the 
key-note  of  Old  Testament  preaching;  and,  "  Repent, 
for  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand,"  was  the  har- 
binger of  the  gospel  in  the  fulness  of  time. 

Observe  how  and  where  we  obtain  the  information 
that  we  are  all  at  first  in  sin  and  under  condemnation: 
it  is  not  announced  by  an  angry  Judge;  we  gather  it 
from  the  breathings  of  a  compassionate  Redeemer.  It 
is  a  Friend  who  tells  us  the  terrible  truth  that  we  are 
lost  in  our  own  sin;  we  should,  therefore,  all  the  more 
willingly  take  it  in,  and  take  it  home.  He  who  tells 
us  knows  all  the  case.  He  knows  what  is  in  man  to 
deserve  the  sentence;  and  what  is  in  God  to  inflict  it. 
"  Hear  ye  Him." 

Suppose  a  captive  in  an  inner  prison,  v/ith  many 
successive  circles  of  strong  walls  around  him;  and  sup- 
pose further  that  he  has  never  been  led  or  carried 
through  these  outer  gates,  but  has  been  born  and 
reared  within  the  fastness.  If  he  is  led  out  at  last  in- 
to liberty,  he  will  discover  the  number  of  the  retaining 
walls,  and  the  thickness  of  each.  The  discovery  will 
be  pleasant,  although  it  is  the  discovery  of  the  strength 
of  his  prison,  when  his  escape  first  reveals  the  depth 
of  his  bondage. 

Thus  the  man  whom  the  Son  of  God  makes  free 
discovers  the  strength  of  his  prison-house.  It  is  in 
going  out  of  it  that  you  learn  how  deep  and  dark  it  is. 

In  the  spiritual  darkness  Satan's  power  is  put  forth: 
that  power  seeks  the  darkness,  and  the  darkness  favors 
that  power.     The  two  work  to  each  other's  hands. 

When  you  turn  from  the  darkness,  it  is  to  the  light: 
when  you  wrench  yourselves  out  of  the  tempter's  pow- 
er, it  is  to  come  to  God.  Perhaps  some  are  thinking 
about  this  grand  decisive  change.  They  are  afraid  of 
remaining   in   the   darkness;   but,  alas  !    they  are  also 


Knowing  t^r  Tnn\  and  doing  tlic  Right.       425 

afraid  to  come  to  the  light:  they  are  afraid  of  being 
longer  in  the  power  of  Satan;  but  there  is  one  thing 
of  which  they  are  still  more  afraid,  and  that  is  to  come 
near  to  God. 

The  prodigal  was  for  a  long  time  unhappy  after  his 
money  was  all  spent;  when  the  pleasures  of  sin  were 
exhausted,  he  endured  its  miseries  many  a  day,  be- 
cause he  dreaded  more  to  be  seen  at  home  a  beggar, 
and  to  meet  an  angry  father's  face,  than  to  endure 
hunger,  and  filth,  and  nakedness  in  a  foreign  land. 
Perhaps  some  of  our  readers  are  in  the  condition  of 
the  prodigal  during  that  interval  between  the  time 
when  he  fell  into  beggary,  and  the  time  when  he  fell 
on  his  father's  neck.  You  are  not  easy  where  you  are. 
The  darkness  is  now  dreadful;  but  the  light,  with  all 
your  sins  upon  you,  is  more  dreadful  still.  Satan's 
chain  is  heavy;  but  you  would  rather  bear  it  than  go 
right  into  the  hands  of  the  living  God.  Blessed  are 
those  prodigals  who  are  brought  the  length  of  the 
grand  decisive  turning,  "  I  will  arise  and  go  to  my 
father !  " 

To  the  filthy  in  his  filthiness,  the  prospect  of  being 
exposed  in  the  light  is  dreadful:  to  the  rebellious  who 
has  broken  his  father's  heart,  the  prospect  of  meeting 
his  father  is  more  formidable  than  all  the  miseries  of 
his  condition.  But  when  he  turns,  all  is  changed; 
when  he  is  clothed  in  the  fairest  robe,  he  need  -not 
shrink  from  the  light  of  his  father's  dwelling,  or  the 
glance  of  a  brother's  eye;  when  he  lies  on  the  Father's 
bosom,  deep  in  the  Father's  unfathomable  love,  he  will 
no  longer  think  it  dreadful  to  come  to  his  Father. 

The  second  portion  of  this  verse  describes  the  priv- 
ileges obtained  in  conversion.  These  are  pardon  and 
the  inheritance.  The  gift,  like  the  work,  is  twofold;  it 
removes  from  a  believer  what  he  deserves,  and  bestows 
upon  him  the  deserts  of  his  Redeemer.  The  birthright 
of  condemnation  is  taken  away,  and  the  birthright  of 
sons  is  conferred.  Christ  has  taken  your  portion,  and 
you  obtain  his.  The  text  teaches  substitution  in  both 
its  parts. 

The  pardon  and  the  inheritance  go  together.  Those 
who  are  not  forgiven  have  no  inheritance  among  the 
sanctified;  and  those  who  have  no  inheritance  among 


426  TJie  'Church   in  tJie  House. 

the  sanctified  are  not  forgiven.  No  human  being  is 
forgiven  and  then  left  outcast;  no  human  being  is 
admitted  to  the  inheritance  unforgiven.  None  with  his 
sins  standing  to  his  own  account  is  admitted  among  the 
children;  none  of  the  children  have  their  sins  standing 
to  their  own  account.  Both,  or  neither.  Christ  is  not 
divided.  Hereafter  a  heaven  awaits  the  holy;  here 
the  holy  ripen  for  heaven. 


XCVII. 

SOBERNESS. 


*^  But  he  said,  I  am  not  ttiad,   most  noble  Festiis;  bid  speak  forth  the 
liwrds  of  truth  and  soberness.'^ — ACTS  xxvi.  25. 

Long,  long  ago,  a  native  Egyptian,  whose  cottage 
stood  near  one  of  the  slave  settlements,  might  have 
observed  a  family  of  the  captive  Hebrew  race  bring- 
ing a  lamb  to  the  house  one  night,  and  after  mys- 
teriously sprinkling  the  door-posts  v/ith  its  blood, 
assembling  to  eat  it  in  a  strange  and  inexplicable 
fashion,  with  their  loins  girt,  and  sandals  on  their 
feet,  and  each  holding  a  staff  in  his  hand,  as  if  the 
poor  bond  brickmakers  had  any  liberty  to  plan  or 
execute  a  journey.  The  people  are  mad,  thinks  the 
Egyptian,  as  he  quietly  eyes  from  his  own  door 
their  eccentric  and  unintelligible  movements.  Not  so 
thought  he  at  next  morning's  dawn,  as  he  bent  over 
the  bed  on  which  his  first-born  lay  a  corpse,  and 
heard  in  the  distance  the  marching  music  of  the  eman- 
cipated Hebrews  as  they  gathered  to  the  rendezvous. 
No:  those  poor  Hebrews  were  not  mad  when  they 
sacrificed  and  ate  their  first  passover:  and  he  who 
thought  them  mad  at  night,  observes  and  owns  their 
wisdom  in  the  morning. 

The  valley  of  the  lower  Jordan  was  a  rich  plain, 
studded  with  thriving  cities,  when  Lot  looked  down 
upon   it   from  the   brow   of  the   neighboring   hill,  and 


Sol>iT)iess.  427 

chose  it  for  his  home.  A  lucky  man  w  ns  he.  All  his 
expectations  were  fulfilled.  Soon  he  became  a  chief 
citizen  of  the  chief  cit)'.  Mis  sons  were  rising  men; 
and  his  daughters  were  introduced  into  the  best  society. 
His  house  was  one  of  the  most  substantial  in  the  city, 
and  his  agricultural  wealth  enabled  him  to  maintain  it 
on  a  scale  of  princely  hospitality.  One  day  three  an- 
gels came  to  this  prosperous  man,  on  an  errand  from 
their  Master.  They  advised  him  to  abandon  all,  and 
flee  with  his  family  to  the  mountains.  As  he  lingered, 
not  absolutely  refusing  obedience,  but  unable  to  make 
up  his  mind  to  the  costly  sacrifice,  they  laid  hold  of 
his  hand  and  hurried  him  away.  Are  not  the  angels 
mad  to  tear  a  prosperous  and  respectable  man  so  rudely 
from  so  warm  a  berth;  and  is  not  he  mad  himself  for 
consenting  to  go  .''  When  Lot  paused,  panting  for 
breath,  half  way  up  the  hill-side,  and  saw  the  smoke 
covering  the  doomed  cities  as  with  the  pall  of  death, 
he  well  knew  that  the  words  which  warned  him  away 
to  a  refuge  in  the  rock  were  words  of  truth  and 
soberness. 

In  a  high  latitude  on  the  southern  ocean,  far  from 
the  track  of  the  world's  commerce,  a  noble  ship,  well 
found  and  well  manned,  is  spreading  her  sails  to  the 
breeze  and  bounding  lightly  through  the  waves,  her 
rough  exploring  work  completed,  and  her  head  turned 
homeward  at  last.  All  suddenly  the  whole  ship's  com- 
pany congregate  astern;  some  hasty  words  are  spoken; 
the  nearest  boats  are  lowered;  with  only  a  bit  of  bread 
for  their  next  meal,  and  not  a  scrap  of  clothing  except 
what  they  wore,  they  hurry  over  the  ship's  sides,  stow 
themselves  away  in  the  boats,  and  cut  adrift  on  an  un- 
frequented sea.  The  men  are  mad,  are  they  not }  No; 
for  a  smouldering  fire  deep  in  the  ship's  hold  beyond 
their  reach,  has  wormed  its  way  to  the  magazine,  and 
it  is  but  a  reckoning  of  minutes  to  the  time  when  the 
ship  will  be  blown  into  a.  thousand  fragments.  The 
men  are  wise  men.  "Skin  for  skin;  yea,  all  that  a 
man  hath  will  he  give  for  his  life."  They  have  given 
away  all  that  they  had  for  their  life;  and  they  have 
made  a  good  bargain.  Had  you  been  there,  you  would 
have  applauded  their  counsel,  and  joined  in  their  act. 

A  few  years  ago,  in  the  United  States  of  America, 


428  TJie   CJuirch   in  the  House. 

a  young  woman  of  taste  and  genius  burst  into  sudden 
and  great  celebrity  as  a  brilliant  writer  in  the  periodi- 
cal literature  of  the  day.  After  a  youth  of  constant 
and  oppressive  struggle  she  found  herself  at  length  an 
object  of  admiration  and  envy  throughout  her  native 
land.  The  world  was  all  before  her;  the  ball  was  at 
her  foot.  Fanny  Forester's  troubles  were  over,  and 
her  fortune  made.  She  has  reached  the  throne  at  last, 
and  may  now  sit  as  a  queen  in  the  highest  circles  of 
American  society. 

The  fashionable  world  had  no  sooner  recognized  and 
accepted  their  favorite,  than  rumors  began  to  spread, 
muffled  at  first,  but  anon  breaking  out  in  clear  tones 
and  distinct  articulation,  that  their  chosen  heroine  had 
consented  to  become  the  wife  of  Judson,  now  far  ad- 
vanced in  life,  and  to  plunge  with  him  into  the  darkest 
heart  of  heathendom,  there  to  burn  her  life-lamp  down 
to  the  socket  learning  a  barbarous  language,  taming  a 
cruel  race,  and  contending  with  a  pestilential  climate, 
■ — all  that  she  might  make  known  the  love  of  Jesus  to 
an  uncivilized  and  idolatrous  nation.  To  Burmah  she 
went;  did  and  bore  her  Saviour's  will  there  till  life  could 
hold  out  no  longer;  and  then  came  home  to  die.  "The 
woman  is  mad,"  rang  from  end  to  end  of  America,  echo- 
ing and  re-echoing  through  the  marts  of  trade  and 
the  salons  of  fashion, — "  the  woman  is  mad."  Herself 
caught  the  word  and  the  thought,  and  like  the  liber- 
ated Hebrews  in  the  wilderness,  consecrated  what  she 
had  borrowed  from  the  Egyptians  to  the  service  of  the 
Lord.  She  wrote  and  published  an  essay  on  "The 
Madness  of  the  Missionary  Enterprise,"  in  which  she 
effectively  turned  the  money-making  and  pleasure-lov- 
ing world  of  her  own  people  upside  down.  The  mis- 
sionary cleared  herself  and  her  cause,  leaving  the 
imputation  of  madness  lying  on  the  other  side. 

As  long  as  there  are  persons  in  the  world  who  seek 
first  the  kingdom  of  God  and  his  righteousness,  and 
other  persons  living  close  at  hand  who  seek  that  kingdom 
in  the  second  place,  and  in  subordination  to  the  claims 
of  gain  or  fashion,  there  must  necessarily  be  a  strongly 
marked  opposition  of  sentiment  between  the  two  classes. 
They  cannot  both  be  right.  Wherever  convictions  are 
keenly  felt,  and  the  consequent  conduct  is  distinctly 


Soberness.  429 

outlined,  both  parties  will  observe  the  difference,  and 
each  will  frame  his  own  judgment  regarding  it.  Where 
the  principles  and  conduct  of  two  persons  are  opposite 
in  regard  to  the  chief  aim  of  life,  each  must  necessarily 
think  his  neighbor  in  the  wrong.  If  two  are  sleeping 
in  one  bed,  and  if  one  arise  at  midnight  and  flee  to  the 
fields  from  a  conviction  that  the  house  is  tottering  to 
its  fall,  while  the  other  though  wide  awake  lies  still  in 
bed,  the  one  who  remains  at  ease  within  the  house  thinks 
his  companion  a  fool  for  his  pains.  And  he  must  think 
so.  If  he  did  not  think  so,  he  could  not  lie  still  anoth- 
er moment.  For  him  only  two  alternatives  are  possible; 
either  he  must  think  that  the  man  who  fled  is  a  fool, 
or  he  must  arise  and  flee  too  with  all  his  might.  As 
long  as  he  lies  there  he  cannot  afford  to  admit  a  belief 
of  his  neighbor's  wisdom,  for  to  admit  that  neighbor's 
wisdom  is  to  convict  himself  of  suicidal  madness.  Ac- 
cordingly, he  holds  fast  by  his  creed  that  the  other 
man  is  a  fool;  and  the  moment  that  creed  fails  him,  he 
arises  and  flees  too  for  his  life. 

Poor  Festus  could  not  think — could  not  speak  other- 
wise to  Paul, — unless,  like  the  jailer  of  Philippi,  he  had 
on  the  instant  become  a  Christian,  and  made  profession 
of  his  faith.  The  subject  was  obviously  the  greatest; 
the  case  had  been  clearly  stated;  this  story  of  a  Divine 
Saviour,  the  just  giving  himself  for  the  unjust,  is  eithei 
true  or  false.  If  it  is  true,  Paul  is  right;  but  if  Paul  is 
right,  Festus  is  wrong.  Not  being  prepared  to  confess 
this,  and  yield  to  its  consequences,  he  took  the  only 
other  alternative  that  remained.  P"estus,  knowing  well 
that  on  this  point, — the  turning-point  of  an  immortal 
for  all  eternity, — where  two  hold  opposite  opinions, 
there  must  be  madness  somewhere,  determined  to  throw 
the  imputation  from  himself.  Festus  said,  "  Thou  art 
mad,  Paul."  Paul  replied,  "  I  am  not  mad,  Festus;  " 
and  the  two  men  parted,  perhaps  never  to  meet  again 
on  earth 

What  then  .'  Is  it  another  case  in  which  two  men 
entertain  different  opinions,  and  in  which  each  may 
safely  hold  his  own  }  Alas  !  it  cannot  be.  One  of  the 
two  is  mad,  and  in  his  madness  .throws  himself  away. 
Paul  is  sober;  Festus  is  the  fool. 

To  make  perishing  treasures  the  true  centre  to  which 


430  The  Church  in  the  House. 

the  soul  gravitates,  and  round  which  the  life  revolveS; 
while  the  things  that  pertain  to  eternity  are  left  to  fol- 
low as  they  may  in  a  secondary  place,  is  abnormal  and 
mischievous.  The  wrench  is  as  fatal  as  would  be  the 
revolution  in  the  material  universe,  if  the  sun,  by  ex- 
ternal violence,  were  compelled  to  move  round  the 
earth,  or  the  earth  to  move  round  the  moon.  In  the 
practical  question  which  every  one  must  once  in  his  life 
decide  for  himself, — the  question  whether  he  shall  be 
his  own  master,  or  accept  with  all  his  heart  and  soul 
the  gospel  of  salvation  by  Jesus  Christ, — there  are  only 
two  sides.  One  side  is  right  and  safe;  the  other  side  is 
wrong  and  ruinous.  "  O  send  out  thy  light  and  thy 
truth;  let  them  lead  me." 


XCVIII. 

THE    UPPER   CLASSES. 
*' Most  noble  Eestus.'' — Acts  xxvi.  -23. 

Sixty  years  since,  a  certain  attached  domestic,  pre- 
suming on  the  privilege  that  was  frequently  in  those 
days  tacitly  accorded  to  his  class,  roundly  reproved 
his  master,  a  great  Scottish  proprietor,  for  the  sin 
of  profane  swearing.  Although  no  record  remains  of 
the  argument,  it  is  evident  that  John  had  taken  a  leaf 
out  of  the  great  Apostle's  book,  and  besides  speaking 
of  righteousness  and  temperance,  had  given  a  broad 
hint  about  the  "judgment  to  come;  "  for  the  laird,  feel- 
ing that  he  had  not  a  leg  to  stand  on,  cut  the  matter 
short  by  the  remark,  "It  has  pleased  Providence  to 
•place  our  family  in  a  superior  position  in  this  world, 
and  I  trust  he  will  do  the  same  in  the  next."  This  is 
a  real  case;  but  it  is  an  extreme,  and  perhaps  we  may 
add,  at  least  in  our  own  day,  a  rare  one.  On  the  other 
side  there  are,  not  here  and  there  one,  but  everywhere 
many,  who  wear  coronets  and  pray.  In  this  respect  the 
lines  of  our  generation  have  fallen  in  a  pleasant  place. 
For  present  privilege  we  should   "thank  God,"  and  for 


The   Upper   Classes.  431 

future  prospects  "  take  courage."  But  between  the 
two  extremes  of  evil  and  good,  of  gross  stolid  carth- 
liness,  and  humble,  intelligent,  strong  faith,  in  the 
upper  ten  thousand  of  British  society,  how  many  diver- 
sities in  constitutional  character  and  external  circum- 
stances !  How  wide  is  the  field,  how  difficult  tlie 
culture,  and  how  vast  the  product,  if  it  were  made 
fruitful  over  all  its  breadth  ! 

It  was  an  outstanding  feature  of  Paul's  character  to 
appreciate  correctly  another  man's  difficulties,  and  to 
s\-mpathize  tenderly  with  those  whose  position  mag- 
nified the  offence  of  the  cross.  There  is  strength,  no 
doubt,  in  this  preacher,  but  there  is  sensibility  too. 
He  cannot  be  weak;  but  neither  is  it  in  him  to  be  rude. 
"Most  noble  Festus,"  said  he.  Oh,  I  love  the  great 
missionary  for  that  word.  I  think  I  hear  his  voice 
thrilling  as  he  utters  it.  Right  well  he  knew  that, 
other  things  being  equal,  it  was  harder  for  the  Roman 
governor  than  for  a  meaner  man  to  obey  the  gospel, 
and  cast  in  his  lot  with  the  Christians.  He  will  not 
flatter  the  august  stranger;  he  will  not  suggest  that 
the  elevated  and  refined  may  have  a  private  door 
opened  to  admit  them  into  heaven,  and  so  escape 
the  humiliation  of  going  in  by  the  same  gate  with 
the  vulgar  throng.  This  missionary  is  faithful,  but 
he  is  never  harsh.  He  makes  allowance  for  every 
one's  temptations,  and  becomes  all  things  to  all  men, 
that  he  may  gain  some.  In  the  polite  respectful  ad- 
dress of  the  Christian  apostle  to  the  Roman  magistrate 
lies  a  principle  that  is  permanent,  precious,  practical. 
Let  us  endeavor  to  understand  and  apply  it. 

We  speak  of  the  aristocracy  here  in  no  narrow 
or  technical  sense.  The  subject  concerns  the  whole 
human  race,  and  bears  directly  on  their  eternal  des- 
tiny. We  speak  at  present  of  the  uppermost  strata  of 
human  society,  whether  birth,  wealth,  energy,  intel- 
lect, or  learning  may  have  been  the  more  immediate 
cause  of  their  elevation.  We  speak  of  those  who  stand 
highest  among  men,  without  pausing  to  inquire  what 
has  raised  them.  Now,  while  it  is  true  of  all  this  upper 
class,  that  they  need  the  salvation  of  Christ,  and  get 
the  offer  of  it  on  precisely  the  same  terms  as  those 
who  stand  on  a  lower  platform,  it  is  also  true   that, 


432  Tlie   CJiiircIi  in  the  House. 

over  and  above  the  temptations  common  to  all  men, 
some  temptations  peculiar  to  themselves  stand  in  the 
way  of  the  highest,  increasing  the  difficulty  of  accept- 
ing the  gospel.  They  are  the  wisest  missionaries,  and 
the  best  successors  of  the  apostles,  who  own  this  pe- 
culiarity, and  make  allowance  for  it  in  their  methods. 

One  of  our  Lord's  sayings,  in  reference  to  the  spe- 
cies of  aristocracy  which  is  constituted  by  wealth, 
may  throw  light  across  our  whole  theme:  "  Then  said 
Jesus  unto  his  disciples,  Verily  I  say  unto  you.  That 
a  rich  man  shall  hardly  enter  into  the  kingdom  of 
heaven.  And  again  I  say  unto  you,  It  is  easier  for  a 
camel  to  go  through  the  eye  of  a  needle,  than  for  a 
rich  man  to  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God  "  (Matt, 
xix.  23,  24).  Of  this  wonderful  word  it  is  generally 
one  side,  and  that  the  harsher,  that  men  take  to 
themselves,  or  present  to  their  neighbors.  Would 
that  we  could  enter  into  the  tender  spirit  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  when  he  uttered  this  pungent  warning !  As- 
suming that  the  needle's  eye  represents  the  low  nar- 
row door  through  the  wall  of  a  fortified  city  by  the 
side  of  the  principal  gate,  for  use  by, night  or  in  time 
of  war  when  the  great  entrance  must  be  shut, — you 
have  here  a  passage  from  danger  into  safety,  not  im- 
practicable in  its  own  nature,  but  impracticable  in 
point  of  fact  to  a  camel,  because  of  its  own  huge 
bulk.  The  foe  is  pursuing,  the  fortress  is  near,  a 
gate  stands  open,  but  this  low  door-way  through 
the  wall  cannot  be  enlarged,  and  if  the  fugitive 
who  seeks  an  entrance  carry  a  high  head  by  na- 
ture, how  shall  he  be  saved }  Thus  the  elevation 
of  the  highest  class  makes  their  entrance  into  Christ's 
kingdom  more  difficult.  Of  this  difficulty  Jesus  speaks 
with  tenderness.  Let  all  his  servants  in  this  matter  fol- 
low his  steps.  "Most  noble  Festus,"  said  the  preacher, 
observing  that  the  habitual  dignity  of  the  Roman  and 
the  official  hauteur  of  the  governor  were  holding  high, 
the  head  of  a  poor  sinful  creature,  and  hindering  him 
from  bowing  before  the  Cross  of  Christ; — Most  noble 
Festus,  respectfully  and  politely  said  that  fervent, 
eloquent  Jew,  doing  what  in  him  lay  to  gratify  the 
great  man's  feelings,  and  so  get  the  lost  man  saved. 

From   the   style  of  the  Apostle's  address  at  this 


TIic    Upper   Classes.  433 

critical  moment,  two  lessons  flow;  or  rather  in  it  one 
lesson  shines,  sending  out  its  light-beams  in  two  op- 
posite directions,  and  teaching  wisdom  to  two  opposite 
classes  of  men. 

For  ardent  Christians  of  every  rank,  and  especially 
Christians  of  humble  station  and  moderate  attainments, 
there  lies  a  lesson  here.  If  you  are  true  disciples,  none 
will  dispute  the  patent  of  your  nobility.  If  you  are 
born  again,  you  are  high-born,  how  low  soever  your 
place  may  be  in  the  registers  of  earth.  But  that  is 
not  the  point  in  hand  at  present.  Beware  of  presum- 
ing upon  your  place  and  your  privilege.  Be  conscious 
of  your  defects,  and  meek  in  your  deportment.  Be 
all  things  to  all  men,  that  you  may  gain  some.  In 
particular,  beware  of  throwing  a  stumbling-block  in 
the  way  of  the  noble,  the  rich,  or  the  refined,  by  any 
species  of  rudeness.  Take  care  lest  you  mistake  vul- 
garity for  faithfulness,  and  your  own  ignorance  for  the 
simplicity  that  is  in  Christ.  You  have  been  reconciled 
unto  God  through  the  death  of  his  Son;  you  have  joy 
and  peace  in  believing:  well;  there  are  some  men  near 
you  who  have  not  yet  submitted  to  the  gospel.  They 
stand  high,  some  on  wealth,  some  on  birth,  some  on 
intellect:  in  these  matters  they  stand  higher  than  ever 
)'ou  stood.  That  elevation  makes  it  harder  for  them 
to  bow  down  and  go  in  by  the  strait  gate.  Had  you 
stood  on  an  equal  height,  perhaps  you  would  not  have 
been  within  the  gate  to-day.  Be  tender,  careful,  watch- 
ful, prayerful,  regarding  them.  What  if  they  should 
turn  away  from  Christ  because  of  some  rude  incrusta- 
tfons  of  character  that  they  saw  in  you,  and  mistook 
for  veritable  features  of  the  gospel  which  you  profess  ! 
Think  of  their  peculiar  difficulties;  do  not  make  them 
greater;  take  some  of  them  out  of  the  way  if  you  can. 
He  that  winneth  souls  is  wise;  ay,  and  he  must  be 
wise  that  would  win  souls. 

For  the  "  most  noble  "  of  every  class  there  lies  a 
lesson  here.  We  frankly  own  that  there  are  nobles 
among  men.  We  address  the  chiefs  of  our  tribe  as 
Paul  addressed  the  Roman  governor  of  Judaea,  and  in 
good  faith  we  give  to  each  the  title  of  respect  which 
is  his  due.  Sirs,  you  cherish  a  high  sense  of  honor, 
and  hold  in  abomination  evcr\'  mean  sneaking  thing 


434  ^/'^   CInirch  in  the  House. 

wherever  it  may  appear;  you  have  by  education  and 
habit  cultivated  a  refined  taste,  and  everything  rude 
grates  upon  your  nerves,  like  rusty  iron  rubbing  on 
your  flesh.  You  have  exercised  your  understanding, 
and  cannot  pay  any  deference  to  mere  assertion,  when 
it  is  backed  by  no  proof.  These  attributes  you  pos- 
sess and  exercise.  We  appreciate  their  worth,  and 
extend  to  you  our  cordial  sympathy  in  regard  to  them. 
Well,  and  what  follows  .-'  Great  and  good  though 
these  attainments  be,  what  is  a  man  profited  if  he 
gain  them  all,  and  a  v/hole  world  besides,  if  he  lose 
his  own  soul .''  These  are  very  good,  but  "one  thing 
is  needful;"  and  it  is  by  sitting  like  Mary  at  the  feet 
of  Jesus  that  any  man  can  attain  that  needful  thing. 
Strive  to  enter  by  the  strait  gate  into  the  kingdom, 
for  your  attainments,  though  in  themselves  good,  may 
be  so  worn  that  they  shall  greatly  increase  the  diffi- 
culty of  the  process. 

Finally,  beware  of  allowing  the  rudeness  and  other 
defects  of  those  who  are  or  seem  to  be  Christians,  to 
scare  you  away  from  Christ.  It  may  be  true  that  some 
are  hypocrites  altogether,  and  some  who  are  really 
Christians  retain  many  repulsive  faults;  but  oh,  my 
most  noble  brother,  it  will  be  no  consolation  to  you 
if  you  are  not  forgiven,  renewed,  and  saved,  that  you 
are  able  to  convict  professing  Christians  of  many 
faults.  You  are  not  asked  to  believe  in  Christians, 
but  to  believe  in  Christ. 


XCIX. 

THE    VOYAGE. 


"And  ivhen  it  was  determined  that  we  should  sail  into  Italy,  they 
delivered  Paul  and  certain  other  prisoners  unto  one  7tained  Julius,  a 
centurion  of  Augustus''  band,^^  etc. — Acts  xxvii.  1-25. 

Paul's  voyage  to  Rome  is  recorded  with  great  mi- 
nuteness, and  with  great  accuracy.  At  first  we  are 
somewhat  surprised  to  find  so  large  a  portion  of  the 


The   Voyage.  435 

book  occupied  b}'  the  details  of  a  voyage  and  a  shi'p- 
wreck;  but  on  closer  examination,  we  discover  an  ad- 
equate cause.  This  journey  marks  the  crisis  of  the 
Jewish  people.  They  had  resisted  all  offers,  and  fi- 
nally rejected  Christ.  Now  God  had  given  them  over; 
and  the  departure  of  Paul  from  Jerusalem  to  Rome 
was  the  transference  of  the  kingdom  to  the  Gentiles. 

At  last  "it  was  determined  that  we  should  sail  un- 
to Italy."  Away  from  the  shore  of  Palestine  this  "cho- 
sen vessel  "  must  go  at  last,  to  bear  the  name  of  Christ 
to  the  central  seat  of  the  Roman  power.  His  earlier 
journe}'s  into  Asia  Minor  and  Greece  were  preliminary 
and  fragmentary;  this  voyage  from  Caesarea  is  the 
great  hinging-point  of  the  world's  history.  Therein 
the  kingdom  of  God  passed  away  from  the  nation  of 
Israel  and  took  possession  of  the  world.  This  journey 
of  the  apostle  constitutes  the  link  of  communion  be- 
tween the  East  and  the  West.  By  this  line  ran  the  secret 
fire  of  the  Divine  life  from  Israel  to  the  Gentiles.  No 
voyage  in  all  the  course  of  time  has  been  charged  with 
so  great  results  for  humankind.  The  Word  lias  now 
in  its  fulness  gone  forth  from  Jerusalem;  and  in  that 
Word  shall  all  the  kindreds  of  the  earth  be  blessed. 

Paul,  with  certain  other  prisoners  under  the  charge 
of  a  Roman  centurion  named  Julius,  was  put  on  board 
a  ship  of  Adramyttium,  bound  northward  along  the 
Phenician  coast,  and  afterwards  along  the  southern 
shore  of  Asia  Minor.  Julius  distinguished  Paul  from 
the  other  prisoners,  and  accorded  him  as  much  liberty 
as  was  consistent  with  his  safe  custody;  induced  to  this 
kindness,  no  doubt,  by  learning  that  Agrippa  had  in 
open  court'pronounced  him  an  innocent  man. 

Sidon,  their  first  port  of  call,  was  the  great  harbor 
of  the  Canaanites.  It  lay  within  the  territory  prophet- 
ically assigned  to  Israel,  but  it  was  never  actually  in 
their  possession.  At  this  time,  however,  the  standard 
of  the  Lord's  kingdom  was  planted  on  its  soil.  The 
apostle  was  permitted  to  go  ashore  to  refresh  himself 
in  the  company  of  his  friends  who  resided  there. 
Wherever  there  is  a  disciple  of  Christ,  there  a  mission- 
ary has  a  friend  and  a  home.  This  is  the  result  after 
which  Freemasonry  aspires;  but  the  faith  in  Christ 
would  gain  the  end  better  without  the  aid  of  such  a 


436  The   Church  in  the  House. 

dubious  ally.  Freemasonry  seems  a  fungus  that  has 
grown  on  Christianity  at  a  time  when  the  mighty  stem 
was  not  in  good  health.  It  is  an  abnormal  growth 
that  damages  the  vigor  of  the  tree. 

From  Sidon,  on  the  Syrian  coast,  you  may,  in  fav- 
orable circumstances,  sail  in  a  straight  line  to  Myra  in 
Asia  Minor,  keeping  Cyprus  on  the  right,  and  avoiding 
the  circuituous  angle  round  the  shore;  but  the  wind 
being  from  the  west,  the  mariners  of  that  day  were 
not  able  to  tack  against  it,  and  were  obliged  to  creep 
along  the  coast  northward  till  they  reached  the  bay 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Orontes,  the  river  of  Antioch,  and 
then  westward  along  the  Asiatic  coast  to  Myra. 

This  harbor  was  probably  the  destiny  of  the  ship. 
The  prisoners  were  here  transferred  to  another  vessel, 
belonging  to  Alexandria,  and  laden  with  grain  for 
Rome.  As  the  wind  continued  westerly,  they  crept 
slowly  for  many  days  along  the  coast,  until  they  gained 
sight  of  Cnidus,  a  large  city  on  the  mainland,  on  the 
extremity  of  a  long  narrow  peninsula,  where  the  coast- 
line turns  northward  to  the  Dardanelles.  Here,  ac- 
cordingly, it  was  necessary  to  leave  the  shore  and 
stand  out  to  sea.  The  wind  compelled  them  to  keep 
a  south-westerly  course,  till  they  reached  the  eas- 
tern extremity  of  the  island  of  Crete.  Passing  the 
point  of  Salmone,  they  found  themselves  in  smoother 
water,  and  wore  westward  on  the  southern  side  of  the 
island  as  far  as  a  place  called  the  Fair  Havens.  There 
seems  to  have  been  no  town  at  that  harbor,  but  Lasea 
was  not  far  off  At  this  anchorage  the  ship  lay  a  long 
time  waiting  for  fairer  winds;  but  as  it  was  now  the 
end  of  September,  and  the  navigation  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean was  considered  dangerous  at  that  season,  Paul 
counselled  the  parties  in  charge  of  the  ship  to  winter 
there.  The  master  of  the  ship,  however,  in  concert 
with  the  centurion,  determined  to  set  sail-  again,  and 
endeavor  to  make  Phenice,  another  harbor  of  Crete, 
further  westward,  and  affording  better  shelter. 

When  the  wind  veered  to  the  south,  thinking  they 
had  gained  their  object,  they  left  Fair  Havens,  and 
again  crept  westward  along  the  coast.  But  ere  they 
had  been  long  at  sea,  the  weather  suddenly  changed, 
and  a  hurricane,  named  Euroclydon,  struck  the  ship 


The    Voyage.  437 

as  she  was  sailing  easily  with  her  boat  in  tow  at  her 
stern. 

The  storm  must  have  blown  from  the  north-cast; 
for  when  they  allowed  the  ship  to  run  before  the  gale, 
she  was  carried  to  the  island  of  Clauda,  which  lies  in 
the  sea  twenty  miles  south-west  of  the  spot  where  the 
tempest  caught  them.  Creeping  under  the  lee  shore 
of  that  island,  they  found  themselves  for  a  time  under 
shelter  of  land,  and  in  comparatively  smooth  water. 
Here,  accordingly,  they  took  the  opportunity  of  trim- 
ming the  ship.  Some  very  necessary  things  were  now 
done  which  could  not  have  been  done  in  the  gale.  The 
boat  had  been  in  tow  when  the  storm  came  on,  and  it 
was  impossible  to  take  it  on  board  while  the  sea  was  run- 
ning high:  now,  with  some  difficulty,  they  hauled  it 
on  board.  They  then  "used  helps,  undergirding  the 
ship."  The  hull  was  not  so  well  constructed  in  those 
days  as  now.  Nor  was  the  strain  so  well  distributed 
as  in  modern  ships;  for  they  used  only  one  mast,  and 
the  huge  sail  suspended  on  it  threw  all  the  strain  on 
one  spot.  Fearing  lest  the  timbers  should  part,  they 
brought  ropes  over  the  bow  and  under  the  keel,  mak- 
ing the  ends  fast  on  deck  by  twisting,  as  logs  of  wood 
are  fastened  together  on  a  cart.  Though  it  seems  to 
us  a  feeble  and  clumsy  expedient,  it  might  in  certain 
circumstances  avert  a  shipwreck  by  keeping  the  planks 
from  springing,  and  so  preventing  a  fatal  leak. 

It  may  be  proved,  by  stretching  a  ruler  on  the  in- 
dicated line  in  a  map  of  the  Mediterranean,  that  if  the 
ship  had  continued  to  run  before  the  wind,  she  would 
have  been  driven  into  Syrtis,  a  bay  of  quicksand  on 
the  African  coast,  greatly  dreaded  by  ancient  seamen. 
In  dread  of  this  catastrophetheyhauleddown  their  great 
sail,  probably  hoisting  a  small  storm-sail  in  its  stead, 
and  lay  to,  as  close  to  the  wind  as  the  ship  would  lie. 
It  can  be  shown  that  this  position  would  give  her  a 
drift  motion  precisely  in  the  direction  of  Malta,  the 
place  on  which  she  ultimately  struck. 

The  storm  increased;  there  was  danger  now  lest 
the  ship  should  founder  in  deep  water.  The  crew 
therefore  threw  cargo  overboard  in  order  to  lighten 
her.  Subsequently,  even  the  tackling  of  the  ship  was 
thrown  out  in  the   extremity   of  their  fear  and   their 


438  TJic   Chiu'ch  in   the  House. 

eagerness  to  keep  afloat.  As  the  storm  raged  with 
unabated  violence,  and  no  observation  could  be  ob- 
tained on  account  of  the  continued  darkness,  the  officers 
and  seamen  abandoned  themselves  to  despair.  Man's 
extremity  became  God's  opportunity.  The  Lord  en- 
couraged his  servant  Paul,  and  Paul  became  a  rally- 
ing-point  to  the  helpless  multitude.  When  the  sight 
of  all  utterly  failed,  the  faith  of  one  bore  them  through. 

From  the  answer  given  by  the  Lord  (verse  24),  we 
can  clearly  gather  what  his  servant  had  asked.  "  Fear 
not,"  said  the  Lord  to  Paul:  Paul  therefore  had  been 
fearful.  His  faith  did  not  exempt  him  from  the  weak- 
ness of  human  nature.  "Not  for  that  we  would  be  un- 
clothed: "  the  watery  grave  that  yawned  beneath  the 
creaking  ship  made  the  man's  flesh  creep,  although  his 
soul  was  upheld  by  a  hope  that  runs  through  all  these 
troubled  waters,  and  fastens  on  the  Anchor  within  the 
veil. 

We  learn  further  that  he  desired  to  live  longer;  for 
manifestly  the  intimation  that  his  life  would  be  pro- 
longed was  meant  to  comfort  him. 

Again,  we  gather  that  he  must  have  pleaded  for  the 
lives  of  all  the  ship's  company,  without  respect  of  per- 
sons. The  answer,  given  to  set  his  mind  at  rest,  bears 
that  the  Lord  had  given  him  all  that  sailed  with  him. 
It  is  better  for  all  in  the  ship  that  they  have  a  Paul  on 
board,  hastening  to  execute  God's  commission  on  the 
earth,  than  to  have  a  Jonah  fleeing  from  his  work  and 
hiding  from  his  Master. 

Finally,  the  main  reason  why  Paul  so  earnestly 
desired  the  prolongation  of  his  own  life,  was  that  he 
might  accomplish  his  life's  great  purpose — that  he 
might  preach  Christ  in  the  highest  places  of  the  hea- 
then world.  "Fear  not,  Paul;  thou  must  be  brought 
before  Caesar."  This  "must"  points  to  the  purpose 
of  the  Omnipotent.  It  was  God's  will  that  this  mes- 
senger should  publish  the  gospel  in  Rome;  and  his 
purpose  shall  stand.  The  tumults  of  the  people  had 
already  been  stilled;  and  now  the  waves  of  the  sen. 
must  hear  and  obey  the  same  Divine  command.  Nei- 
ther tumult  will  be  permitted  to  swallow  up  the  "chosen 
vessel,"  until  it  has  discharged  its  precious  burden  on 
the  appointed  spot. 


///  tJie  Storm.  439 


IN  THE   STORM. 

"  Saying,  Fear  not,  Paul;  thou  tiiiist  be  brought  before  Casar:  ana, 
'o,  God  halh  given  thee  all  them  that  sail  with  thee.  Wherefore,  sirs, 
be  of  good  cheer:  for  I  believe  God,  that  it  shall  be  even  as  it  7uas 
told  me,"  etc.— Acts  xxvii.  24-37. 

*' HOWBKIT  we  must  be  cast  upon  a  certain  island" 
(verse  26).  What  island  ?  There  are  two  of  the  same 
name,  Malta,  and  Meleda  in  the  Gulf  of  Venice.  The 
question  long  in  debate  may  be  considered  settled  now. 
It  must  be  Malta.  It  seems  now  strange  that  not  a 
few  inquirers,  both  in  earlier  and  more  modern  times, 
pronounced  in  favor  of  Meleda.  Their  reasons  were 
founded  on  mistakes  which  have  now  been  explained. 
For  example,  the  term  Adria  was  supposed  to  show 
that  the  island  must  have  been  in  the  Adriatic  Gulf, 
which  stretches  northward  to  Venice;  but  it  is  certain 
tiiat  that  part  of  the  Mediterranean  which  lies  between 
Crete  and  Malta  was  in  ancient  times  called  the  Adri- 
atic Sea;  and  the  mistake  has  arisen  from  confounding 
this  with  the  Adriatic  Gulf.  The  term  "  barbarian," 
too,  applied  to  the  inhabitants  of  Malta,  was  supposed 
to  be  inappropriate  to  that  island,  inasmuch  as  under 
the  rule  of  the  Romans  the  people  at  that  date  had 
attained  some  considerable  measure  of  civilization;  but 
it  was  the  custom  in  those  times  to  apply  the  term 
"barbarian"  indiscriminately  to  all  except  those  who 
employed  the  Greek  or  Latin  tongue. 

The  terms  translated  "driven  up  and  down  in  Adria" 
simply  mean  "driven  through  Adria."  Drifting  in  the 
direction  that  the  wind  would  carry  them,  at  the  rate 
of  a  mile  and  a  half  an  hour — the  rate  at  which  it  is 
known  a  ship  under  such  circumstances  would  go — 
they  must  strike  on  the  north-east  corner  of  Malta 
between  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  day  after  leav- 
ing Clauda.  Thus  accurately  has  the  narrative  been 
given. 

About    midnight,  while  no  object  was  visible,  the 


440  The   Church   in   the  House. 

shipmen,  judging  from  signs  with  which  all  mariners 
are  familiar,  deemed  that  they  drew  near  some  land. 
We  may  assume  that  the  seamen  heard  the  sound  of 
breakers  on  the  shore;  but  these  breakers  could  not 
have  been  ahead.  With  a  gale  blowing  towards  the 
land,  if  the  rocks  had  been  right  in  the  ship's  course, 
she  must  have  been  so  near  the  rocks  before  the  sound 
could  be  heard,  that  she  must  have  struck  before  it  was 
possible  to  bring  her  up.  On  consulting  the  map,  we 
find  that  a  ship  drifting  in  a  straight  line  from  Clauda 
would  pass  near  a  projecting  headland,  and  after  pass- 
ing it  enter  a  bay,  still  called  St.  Paul's  Bay;  and  in 
crossing  the  bay,  after  hearing  the  breakers  on  the 
promontory,  there  would  be  time  to  bring  up  the  ship 
by  her  anchors  before  she  reached  the  land  on  the 
other  side.  It  is  known  that  during  a  north-easter, 
the  sea  beats  furiously  on  this  headland. 

On  hearing  the  sound  which  indicated  land,  they 
sounded,  and  found  the  depth  twenty  fathoms.  This  is 
precisely  the  depth  opposite  the  point;  and  the  sound- 
ings forward  in  the  middle  of  the  bay  gave  fifteen  fath- 
oms. Fearing,  from  the  diminishing  depth  of  their 
soundings,  lest  they  should  fall  among  rocks,  "  they 
cast  four  anchors  out  of  the  stern,  and  wished  for  the 
day."  Many  foolish  things  have  been  urged  against 
this  method,  and  against  the  authenticity  of  the  narra- 
tive. It  can  be  demonstrated  that  what  the  sailors  did 
was  right  in  the  circumstances,  although  it  was  a  devi- 
ation from  the  ordinary  routine.  They  must  have  been 
so  near  the  rocks,  that  if  they  had  brought  the  ship  up 
by  the  bow,  she  might  have  struck  in  the  act  of  com- 
ing round.  In  the  Crimean  war,  when  the  ship  Lord 
Raglan  was  placed  in  similar  circumstances,  and  all 
hope  of  saving  her  was  abandoned,  the  captain  run  her 
ashore,  bow  on,  and  was  much  commended  for  his 
judgment. 

By  this  time  the  plan  of  the  seamen  was  matured. 
They  meant  to  run  the  ship  aground.  They  had  made 
up  their  minds  that  she  must  become  a  wreck,  and  all 
their  energies  were  directed  towards  the  saving  of  hu- 
man life.  But  for  this  object  everything  depended  on 
getting  the  ship  beached  on  a  shelving  band,  and  not 
runnins:'  her  on  rocks.     Now  if  her  bow  is  to  the  shore 


/;/   the  Storm.  441 

when  the  daylight  comes,  they  will  be  able  to  see  where 
there  is  an  opening,  and  by  the  use  of  sail  and  rudder, 
to  turn  her  a  little  to  the  right  or  left,  so  as  to  strike 
on  a  favorable  spot.  On  the  other  hand,  if  the  morn- 
ing should  find  them  anchored  by  the  bow,  close  to  a 
weather-shore,  with  a  gale  blowing  from  the  sea,  as 
soon  as  they  should  lift  the  anchor  she  would  strike, 
long  before  they  could  take  measures  for  turning  her 
about. 

It  is  objected  that  a  ship's  anchors  are  always  kept 
lying  near  the  bow;  but  as  this  ship  had  at  least  four, 
none  of  them  would  be  very  large,  and  there  were 
several  hundreds  of  able-bodied  men  on  board.  The 
anchors  could  have  been  carried  aft  in  a  few  moments. 
But  even  this  suggestion  is  not  necessary;  for  in  a 
painting  found  at  Herculaneum,  a  galley  is  represented 
with  the  anchor-cables  running  out  from  holes  in  the 
stern. 

While  they  waited  in  this  position  for  the  dawn,  they 
were  exposed  to  two  dangers,  known  to  the  seamen, 
but  of  which  the  landsmen  on  board  woitld  not  be  aware. 
On  one  hand,  the  anchors  might  drag; — in  point  of  fact 
they  held  fast,  but  this  could  not  be  known  till  exper- 
ience proved  it.  It  is  worthy  of  note  that  in  the  Eng- 
lish sailing  directions  you  learn  that  the  ground  in  St. 
Paul's  Bay  is  so  good  that  "  while  the  cables  hold  there 
is  no  danger,  as  the  anchors  will  never  start."  But,  on 
the  other  hand,  the  ship  might  founder  at  anchor.  The 
risk  of  this  was  greater  now  than  when  she  was  drifting. 

Fearing  lest  the  ship  should  founder  or  strike  before 
morning,  the  sailors  basely  and  selfishly  formed  a  plan 
to  save  their  own  lives  and  leave  the  passengers  to 
their  fate.  They  intended  to  make  their  own  way  to 
siiore  in  the  boat;  but  as  they  were  in  a  minority,  they 
found  it  necessary  to  dissemble,  and  effect  their  pur- 
pose by  stealth.  They  found  a  very  plausible  veil  un- 
der which  to  cover  their  design.  The  ship,  made  fast 
by  the  stern  and  the  sea  washing  over  her,  labors 
dangerously.  The  movement  may  gnaw  the  cables 
asunder;  if  she  were  anchored  also  by  the  bow  she 
would  ride  more  at  ease.  But  it  is  obvious  that  this 
can  be  accomplished  only  by  carrying  an  anchor  forward 
a  cable's-length  in  a  boat,  and  dropi)ing  it  there.    Thus 


442  The   Church   in  the  House. 

the  skilled  seamen  obtained  a  colorable  pretext  for  low- 
ering the  boat  and  getting  into  it  themselves.  This 
done,  they  meant  to  desert  the  wreck  and  make  for  the 
shore. 

Of  all  the  landsmen  on  board,  only  one  had  pene- 
tration to  divine  the  scheme.  Paul  had  gone  through 
a  good  deal  of  maritime  experience;  and  as  he  had 
skill  to  perceive  the  plot,  he  possessed  the  coolness 
and  presence  of  mind  necessary  to  crush  it.  Not  a 
word  of  objuration  to  the  faithless  seamen;  only  a 
quick  whisper  in  the  centurion's  ear,  and  the  thing 
was  done.  In  a  moment  the  soldiers  clustered  round 
the  boat,  cut  with  their  swords  the  slings  in  which 
it  hung,  and  allowed  it  to  drop  into  the  sea.  Thus  the 
skilled  seamen  were  compelled  to  make  common  cause 
with  the  passengers  to  save  their  own  lives.  Thus  the 
safety  of  all  was  secured:  for  if  the  sailors  had  left 
the  ship,  the  soldiers  could  not  have  executed  the 
manoeuvre  necessary  to  beach  her  in  a  place  of  safety 
at  the  dawn. 

It  may,  perhaps,  be  useful  to  interpose  here  a  note 
on  the  relation  between  the  Divine  decree  and  the 
free  agency  of  men.  Already  Paul  had  announced, 
on  the  authority  of  a  Divine  revelation,  that  the  lives 
of  all  on  board  would  certainly  be  saved;  yet  he  now 
says:  "Except  these  abide  in  the  ship,  ye  cannot 
be  saved."  Some  very  learned  persons  have  gravely 
pointed  to  these  circumstances  as  a  refutation  of  the 
doctrines  regarding  the  purposes  of  God — commonly 
called  "  Calvinistic."  But  Calvin  was  not  such  a  fool 
as  to  believe  that  the  Divine  prescience  precluded 
human  freedom.  There  is  a  difficulty,  but  it  is  not 
greater  than  might  have  been  expected  to  occur  at 
the  point  where  man's  finite  understanding  touches 
the  purposes  of  the  Infinite.  The  difficulty,  moreover, 
is  not  less  for  those  who  oppose  Calvin's  view  than  for 
those  who  espouse  it.  In  this  case,  for  example,  it 
was  clearly  declared  to  be  the  purpose  of  God  that 
all  these  lives  should  be  saved  in  the  shipwreck. 
Now,  was  that  declaration  true  at  the  moment  it  was 
made,  or  not  true }  If  you  say  it  was  not  true,  you 
dishonor  the  Scripture;  if  it  was  true,  then  the  means 
necessary  to  accomplish  the  promise  must  be  taken. 


All  Saved.  443 

There  is  no  liberty  to  omit  them.  The  men  acted 
freely,  swayed  by  ordinary  natural  motives;  but  God 
acted  sovereignl}',  employing  the  free-will  as  well  as 
the  power  and  skill  of  men  to  fulfil  his  purpose.  There 
is  no  contradiction  between  the  sovereignty  of  God 
and  the  liberty  of  man.  There  is  a  deep  here  which 
no  human  intellect  can  fathom;  and  it  is  easy,  both 
on  the  one  side  and  on  the  other,  to  shut  up  an  op- 
ponent into  a  corner.  But  a  more  excellent  way  is 
to  reverence  the  Divine  omniscience,  and  humbly  ad- 
dress ourselves  to  all  revealed  duty,  counting  that 
what  they  know  not  now,  all  the  redeemed  of  the 
Lord  shall  know  hereafter. 


CI. 

ALL  SAVED. 


"And  while  the  day  was  coining  on,  Paul  besought  them  all  to  'ahe 
meat,  saying.  This  day  is  the  fourteenth  day  that  ye  have  tarried  and 
continued  fasting,  having  taken  nothing.  Wherefore  I  pray  you  to  take 
some  meat:  for  this  is  for  your  health:  for  there  shall  not  an  hair  fall 
from  the  head  of  any  of  you,''  etc.—h.CX'S,  XXVII.  33-44;  XXVIII.  l-io. 

We  have  seen  how  Paul  comprehended  the  design  of 
the  sailors  and  defeated  it.  His  experience  in  former 
shipwrecks  had  not  been  thrown  away  upon  him;  and 
although  these  earlier  dangers  arc  not  recorded,  as  not 
being,  like  this  one,  a  great  crisis  for  the  kingdom,  the 
lessons  which  they  taught  come  in  with  effect  precise- 
ly where  they  are  needed.  A  word  from  Paul  to  the 
centurion,  and  a  word  from  the  centurion  to  his  men, 
and  in  a  moment  two  or  three  short  broadswords 
flashed  from  their  scabbards,  the  ropes  by  which  the 
boat  was  suspended  were  snapped  asunder,  and  the 
boat  fell  with  a  splash  into  the  sea.  It  would  drift 
away  unseen  among  the  rocks,  and  be  dashed  to 
pieces.  The  sailors,  having  now  no -means  of  going 
ashore,  were  obliged  to  abide  by  the  ship;  and  by  cheir 
skill  in  the  morning  all  were  saved. 


44'1-  ^/^^   CJnirch  in  the  Ho7ise. 

As  day  began  to  break,  when  they  could  see  each 
other,  but  could  not  discern  the  land,  at  Paul's  sug- 
gestion food  was  distributed,  and  the  men  were  cheered 
by  the  hope  of  deliverance.  At  that  meal,  with  a  mis- 
cellaneous multitude  numbering  two  hundred  and  sev- 
enty-six, consisting  of  Christians,  Jews,  and  heathens 
of  various  name  and  nation,  the  voice  of  the  apostle 
was  lifted  up  above  the  noise  of  winds  and  waves,  giv- 
ing cheerful  thanks  to  God  for  his  goodness.  The  as- 
cendancy of  the  Christian  missionary  at  that  anxious 
hour  was  an  honor  to  the  gospel  which  he  preached, 
and  would  probably  contribute  to  commend  his  mes- 
sage to  many  who  witnessed  it.  The  example  of  one 
courageous  man  was  infectious:  "Then  were  they  all 
of  good  cheer,  and  they  also  took  some  meat." 

At  this  crisis  the  seamen  further  lightened  the  ship 
by  throwing  cargo  overboard;  not  only  to  prevent  her 
from  sinking,  but  to  diminish  her  draught,  and  so  en- 
able her  to  run  higher  on  the  beach.  When  the  day 
dawned,  the  sailors  keenly  scanned  the  unknown 
shore,  and  discovering  a  small  opening  in  the  girdle 
of  rocks,  with  a  shelving  and  probably  a  sandy  beach, 
they  determined  if  possible  to  run  the  ship  aground 
there. 

Three  operations,  successively  narrated  but  simul- 
taneously performed,  combined  and  conspired  to  the 
success  of  the  plan.  i.  They  cut  off  the  anchors,  for 
there  was  not  time  to  heave  them  up.  2.  They  loosed 
the  rudder  bands.  The  steering  apparatus  of  an  an- 
cient ship  was  not  like  our  modern  helm.  It  con- 
sisted of  two  large,  long,  loose  oars,  both  at  the  stern, 
one  on  either  side  of  the  keel.  The  ship's  bulwarks 
were  perforated  on  the  two  quarters  for  these  two  great 
projecting  paddles.  Now,  whenever  these  oars  were 
out  of  use,  they  were  raised  out  of  the  water,  and 
lashed  with  ropes  to  the  ship's  sides.  It  was  neces- 
sary, the  moment  that  the  anchor  cables  were  cut, 
to  let  down  the  rudders  in  order  to  direct  the  course 
of  the  ship.  3.  They  hoisted  a  foresail  to  give  the 
ship  more  way,  and  so  enable  them  to  steer  into  the 
creek.  In  all  this  the  presence  of  experienced  seamen 
wa.s  necessary.  The  soldiers  could  not  have  handled 
the   ship  in   this   fashion;   and,  if  the  sailors   had   es- 


All  Saved.  445 

caped  during  the  night,  the  ship  would  have  been 
wrecked  on  the  breakers. 

The  scheme  was  successfully  accomplished.  The 
place  where  two  seas  met  was  probably  the  narrow 
channel  between  the  mainland  and  a  small  island  that 
lies  in  the  bay  close  in-shore.  Mr.  Smith  found  the 
shore  to  consist  of  mud,  fading  away  into  clay.  Strik- 
ing there,  the  ship's  bow  was  immediately  wedged  in- 
to the  solid,  while  the  hinder  part,  still  floating,  was 
broken  off  by  the  violence  of  the  waves. 

In  accordance  with  the  cruel  and  reckless  habits 
of  war,  the  soldiers  proposed  a  wholesale  slaughter 
of  the  prisoners,  lest  any  of  them  should  escape;  and 
even  the  centurion  Julius,  although  he  succeeded  in 
diverting  them  from  their  purpose,  did  not  base  his 
request  on  grounds  of  humanity  and  justice.  The 
measure  was  exceptional  in  order  to  preserve  the  life 
of  Paul.  We  are  left  to  understand  that  if  the  apostle 
had  not  been  there,  an  object  of  interest  and  gratitude 
to  the  whole  company,  no  serious  opposition  would 
have  been  made  to  the  cruel  precaution  of  the  soldiers. 
Such  is  heathenism,  and  such  is  war. 

After  the  skilful  manner  in  which  the  ship  was 
beached,  the  escape  of  all  on  board  was  easy  and 
natural.  As  soon  as  they  reached  the  land,  they 
learned  from  the  natives  that  the  name  of  the  island 
was  Mclita — beyond  all  reasonable  doubt  the  Malta 
which  has  occupied  a  prominent  place  in  medieval  and 
modern  history,  and  remains  at  this  day  politically  one 
of  the  most  important  possessions  of  the  British  crown. 

The  natives,  styled  barbarians,  as  speaking  a  language 
not  understood  by  either  Greeks  or  Romans,  exerted 
themselves  to  alleviate  the  sufferings  of  the  passengers 
and  crew.  The  people  would  be  familiar  with  mer- 
chant ships  passing  and  repassing  between  Italy  and 
ICgvpt.  As  the  rain  was  falling  in  torrents  after  the 
hurricane  had  spent  itself,  a  fire  was  kindled  on  the  spot. 
As  the  shipwrecked  men  gathered  round  the  fire,  cold 
and  wet  in  the  gray  dawn  of  that  wintry  morning,  each, 
as  he  saw  opportunity,  cast  in  some  sticks  to  feed  the 
flame.  Paul  himself,  ever  thoughtful  and  active  in 
things  small  or  great,  gathered  also  a  handful  of  fuel 
and  threw  it  on  the  fire.     Forthwith  a  viper  glided  out 


44^  The  CJiurcJi  in  the  House. 

and  fastened  on  his  naked  hand.  Evidently  the  rep- 
tile had  been  coiled  up  among  the  branches  as  they 
lay  on  the  ground;  and  naturally  it  made  its  way  out 
as  soon  as  it  felt  the  heat.  The  barbarians  entertained 
some  notions  of  natural  religion,  which  were  in  the  main 
sound,  although  in  practice  wrongly  applied.  They  had 
an  idea  that  sin  will  find  the  sinner  out,  although 
there  may  be  apparent  impunity  for  a  time.  They 
thought  the  bite  of  the  viper  was  fatal,  and  that  the 
death  of  a  man  who  was  saved  from  shipwreck  was  a 
notable  example  of  sure  though  tardy  justice  in  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  world.  They  imagined  that  in  this 
case  the  punishment  proved  the  guilt. 

Paul  shook  off  the  viper,  and  experienced  no  harm. 
In  this  and  many  other  similar  cases  there  is  not  specific 
information  whether  the  immunity  was  due  to  natural 
or  supernatural  causes.  But  on  either  supposition  alike, 
Paul's  life  was  preserved  by  the  care  of  our  Father  in 
heaven.  The  natives  now  changed  their  minds  and 
gravitated  to  the  opposite  extreme.  Him  whom  they 
had  considered  a  murderer  overtaken  by  vengeance, 
they  will  now  revere  as  a  deity.  Such  is  the  genius 
of  heathenism.  When  it  comes  to  any  strait,  such  as 
a  swollen  Jordan,  it  cries.  Where  is  Elijah  my  God; 
but  true  faith,  in  extremities,  calls  confidingly  on  the 
"  Lord  God  of  Elijah." 

I  suppose  Paul  shrunk  with  loathing  and  horror 
from  the  reptile,  when  he  saw  and  felt  it  creeping  on 
his  naked  hand.  I  think  he  did  not  cast  it  coolly  and 
gently  away:  he  would  shake  the  loathsome  creature 
passionately  from  his  flesh,  lest  it  should  plant  its  poison 
in  his  blood.  Oh  for  such  a  loathing  of  sin  in  our  mem- 
bers, and  such  rapid  energy  in  casting  it  away  !  If 
there  were  such  grace  in  our  hearts  as  would  shrink 
spiritually  from  the  old  serpent  as  quickly  and  strongly 
as  the  natural  instincts  shrink  from  the  material  sting, 
we  should  tread  the  path  of  life  in  safety,  compassed 
with  the  Divine  favor  as  with  a  shield. 


The  Meeting-.  447 


CII. 

THE  MEETING. 

^^  A?id  a/irr  three  months  lue  departed  in  a  ship  of  Alexandria  which 
had  wintered  in  the  is/e,  whose  sign  7cias  Castor  and  Pollux"  etc. — 
Acts  xxviii.  11-15. 

The  governor  of  the  island  resided  near  the  spot. 
Valctta,  the  best  harbor,  and  the  only  town  in  mod- 
ern times,  is  near  St.  Paul's  Bay.  The  island  was 
subject  to  the  Romans,  but  little  attention  was  paid 
to  it.  From  the  fact  that  the  governor's  father  was 
living,  and  in  a  private  position,  it  is  evident  that  the 
chieftainship  was  not  hereditary.  The  cure  performed 
afforded  the  missionary  a  lever  for  the  prosecution  of 
his  work.  It  gave  authority  to  his  word  among  the 
people. 

After  a  delay  of  three  months — that  is,  when  the 
winter  was  past;  and  the  spring  approaching — the 
party  put  to  sea  again  in  a  ship  of  Alexandria  that 
had  wintered  in  the  island.  Castor  and  Pollux,  a  pair 
of  brothers  that  hold  a  prominent  place  in  Greek  my- 
thology, and  were  recognized  as  the  tutelary  deities 
of  seafaring  men,  constituted  the  figure-head  of  the 
ship,  and  by  their  name  she  was  known.  The  fact 
that  this  vessel,  trading  between  Alexandria  and  Pu- 
teoli,  on  the  western  coast  of  Italy,  passed  the  winter 
in  Melita,  is  clear  proof  that  it  was  not  Meleda  in  the 
Gulf  of  Venice;  for  that  island  is  very  far  out  of  the 
route.  Moreover,  this  ship,  in  her  voyage  from  Melita 
to  Puteoli,  while  the  weather  was  fair,  and  nothing 
occurred  to  carry  her  out  of  her  course,  called  at  Syra- 
cuse by  the  way.  This  was  perfectly  natural  and 
easy  for  a  ship  that  sailed  from  Malta,  but  enormously 
out  of  a  ship's  course  from  Meleda.  These  circum- 
stances, added  to  the  positive  evidence  already  given, 
remove  all  reasonable  doubt  as  to  the  locality  of  the 
shipwreck. 

Syracuse  was  in  those  times  the  great  seaport  of 


448  The  Church   {?t  the  House. 

Sicily.  It  was  by  far  the  most  renowned  of  those 
cities  that  were  founded  by  Greek  emigrants  on  the 
western  coasts  of  Europe.  It  occupied  an  important 
position  in  the  dreadful  struggles  between  the  several 
republics  of  Greece,  and  also  in  the  internecine  quarrel 
between  Rome  and  Carthage.  Perhaps  no  ancient 
city  is  so  conspicuous  in  history  for  the  sieges  that  it 
has  undergone.  There  is  a  tradition  that  the  Church 
at  Syracuse  was  founded  by  Paul  in  person;  and  it  is 
probable  that  Julius  on  this  occasion  permitted  him  to 
go  ashore  and  preach. 

From  Syracuse  the  Castor  and  Pollux  fetched  a 
compass,  and  came  to  Rhegium.  This  place  is  on 
the  Italian  shore,  in  the  straits  which  separate  Sicily 
from  the  continent.  It  was  about  the  same  place  that 
Garibaldi  landed  with  his  volunteers  after  he  had  sub- 
jugated Sicily.  In  many  respects  this  was  the  most 
remarkable  revolution  of  modern  times.  That  extra- 
ordinary man,  with  a  handful  of  followers,  drove  the 
Neapolitan  monarch  from  his  throne  and  kingdom, 
delivering  a  fair  country  from  che  double  tyranny  of 
priest  and  king,  and  introducing  Italy  into  the  com- 
munity of  nations. 

It  is  intimated  that  in  order  to  make  Rhegium 
"they  fetched  a  compass."  This  may  mean,  either 
that  the  wind  blew  from  the  west,  and  they  were 
obliged  to  run  out  to  sea  eastward  for  a  time,  in 
order  to  catch  the  breeze;  or  that  the  wind  was  more 
directly  contrary,  and  it  was  necessary  to  beat  up 
against  it.  After  a  halt  there  of  a  single  day  the 
wind  became  fair,  and  they  reached  Puteoli  on  the 
following  day,  having  run  a  distance  of  one  hundred 
and  eighty  miles.  On  the  northern  side  of  the  great 
bay  of  Naples,  and  not  far  from  each  other,  lay  Pu- 
teoli, the  great  mercantile  seaport  of  Rome,  and  Baiae, 
the  favorite  watering-place  of  her  luxurious  citizens. 

As  soon  as  he  landed,  Paul  found  "  brothers."  The 
family  is  multiplying  and  spreading  through  the  em- 
pire. The  fire  of  this  Christian  life  is  going,  like  the 
lightning,  against  the  wind:  although  the  sect  is  every- 
where spoken  against  and  persecuted,  yet  the  sect  is 
increasing,  like  the  breaking  forth  of  waters.  The 
seven   days'   delay  at   Puteoli  is  a  Christian   and   not 


The   Meeting.  449 

a  Roman  measurement.  It  points  on  the  one  hand 
to  the  weekly  Sabbath,  and  on  the  other  to  the  con- 
firmed ascendancy  of  Paul  over  all  the  arrangements 
of  the  journey.  Julius  seems  by  this  time  to  have 
fallen  into  the  habit  of  shaping  his  course  by  the  ad- 
vice of  his  prisoner. 

"  So  we  went  to  Rome,"  along  the  much  celebrated 
and  frequented  Appian  Way,  from  the  seaport  to  the 
capital.  The  brothers  at  Puteoli  must  have  sent  ex- 
press to  Rome  to  advise  their  fellow-disciples  of  Paul's 
arrival,  and  a  deputation  had  started  from  the  city  to 
meet  and  welcome  the  distinguished  visitor.  For  the 
Christians  at  Rome,  the  arrival  of  Paul  was  a  great 
event.  He  had  been  longing  for  them,  and  they  for 
him.  At  last  the  great  object  of  his  life  was  almost 
within  his  grasp;  and  they — what  a  thrill  of  joyful  ex- 
pectancy must  have  run  through  their  circle  when  the 
news  first  reached  them  that  the  Castor  and  Pollux 
of  Alexandria,  last  from  Malta,  had  actually  arrived 
with  the  apostle  of  the  Gentiles  on  board  !  Then 
circular  messages  went  round:  all  must  meet  this 
evening,  perhaps  in  the  house  of  Aquila.  At  the 
meeting  many  eager  inquiries  would  pass — those  who 
had  never  seen  the  great  missionary  would  again  de- 
mand of  those  who  had  seen  him  what  his  appearance 
was,  and  wherein  his  power  seemed  to  lie. 

They  must  send  a  large  deputation  forward  to  meet 
him.  They  will  stretch  out  their  arms  far  to  embrace 
the  approaching  ambassador  of  their  heavenly  King. 
They  will  give  him  a  royal  welcome.  All  who  are 
able-bodied  will  go;  none  are  willing  to  be  left  behind. 
Some  seem  to  have  started  who  were  hardly  fit  for 
the  journey;  for  they  halted  at  Three  Taverns,  a  dis- 
tance of  seventeen  miles  from  the  city,  while  those 
who  were  more  vigorc^us  pushed  on  as  far  as  Appii 
Forum,  a  distance  of  twenty-seven  miles.  The  apos- 
tle and  his  company  are  meantime  pursuing  their 
journey  northward  along  the  Appian  Way.  For  the 
last  nineteen  miles  a  canal  ran  alongside  the  high- 
way, partly  for  the  drainage  of  the  marshes,  and 
partly  for  the  purposes  of  navigation.  Appii  Forum 
was  the  terminus  of  the  canal  on  the  north,  and 
nearest    the   city.     It   was   a   rough    place,   swarming 


450  The   Church  in  the  House. 

with  low  tavern-keepers  and  bargemen.  At  that  spot 
the  front  rank  of  the  deputation  from  Rome  met  Paul 
and  his  companions.  At  that  place,  rude,  and  even 
disreputable  among  the  towns  of  Italy,  the  two  ends 
of  the  coil  were  joined,  and  Jerusalem  brought  into 
connection  with  Rome.  Then  and  there  the  spirit 
of  the  kingdom  passed  out  of  Jerusalem  and  entered 
into  Rome.  Henceforth  the  gospel,  withdrawn  from 
the  Jews,  has  its  seat  in  the  heart  of  the  Gentile 
world. 

The  body  of  Christ,  crucified  at  Jerusalem,  was  laid 
in  the  grave,  dead.  Christ  himself  rose  from  the  grave 
and  ascended  into  heaven.  No  longer  was  he  sent  ex- 
clusively to  Israel.  His  resurrection  was  life  to  the 
world.  The  apostolate,  sent  out  after  the  Lord's  as- 
cension, was  the  resurrection  for  the  Gentiles.  Now 
Christ  has  come  to  the  world's  great  head,  and  Paul  is 
the  vessel  chosen  and  used  to  bear  him  thither. 

As  Peter  and  John  started  in  company,  with  equal 
love,  to  see  the  place  where  the  Lord  lay,  that  they 
might  be  witnesses  of  his  resurrection,  but  separated 
on  the  road,  the  younger  and  nimbler  runner  coming 
first  to  the  empty  grave;  so,  in  Italy  that  day,  those 
who  set  out  together  to  witness  the  kingdom  of  God 
risen  from  its  ruin  in  Jerusalem,  and  approaching  Rome 
in  the  power  of  a  new  life,  separated  into  two  bands. 
One  portion  outran  the  other,  and  first  reached  the 
meeting-place.  But  the  feebler,  who  remained  behind, 
met  the  apostle  too,  and  received  the  Christ  whom  he 
bore.  Not  only  so,  but  those  who  remained  at  home 
in  the  city  obtained  in  due  time  a  full  portion  of  the 
spoil.  According  to  the  desires  of  your  loving  heart  it 
will  be  given  to  you,  not  according  to  the  strength  of 
your  muscles  and  the  fleetness  of  your  feet.  Seek,  and 
ye  shall  find.  In  the  matters  o/  the  kingdom  a  man  is 
accepted,  not  according  to  what  he  hath  not,  but  ac- 
cording to  what  he  hath. 


Gratitude  and  Fortitude.  45 1 

cm. 

GRATITUDE  AND  FORTITUDE. 

"  And  from  thence,  when  the  brethren  heard  of  tis,  they  came  to  meet 
us  as  far  as  Appii  Forum,  and  the  Three  Taverns:  whom  when  Paul 
saw,  he  thanked  God,  and  took  courage.  And  when  we  came  to  Rome, 
the  centurion  delivered  the  prisoners  to  the  captain  of  the  guard:  but 
Paul  Tijas  suffered  to  dwell  by  himself  with  a  soldier  that  kept  him." 
—Acts  xxvui.  15,  16. 

A  SPECIAL  note  is  taken  of  the  effect  produced  by  the 
meeting  on  Paul's  own  mind.  When  he  saw  the  breth- 
ren, "he  thanked  God,  and  took  courage."  This  is  a 
pregnant  e.xample  for  us:  this  short  sentence  is  full  of 
practical  wisdom.  This  faith  that  Paul  possessed  is 
better  than  the  mysterious  stone  that  turns  whatever 
it  touches  into  gold.  From  the  point  of  the  present  he 
looks  backward  and  forward.  AH  the  past  of  his  life 
he  seems  to  count  only  a  preparation;  his  work  lies  still 
before  him.  It  is  a  beautiful  character  that  is  dis- 
played here  in  two  great  hemispheres:  for  the  past  it  is 
devout  gratitude;  for  the  future,  filial  confidence. 

For  the  past,  "he  thanked  God."  The  long  vista  of 
memory  was  bright  with  blessings.  God's  mercies  had 
been  "waters  that  fail  not,"  a  continual  stream.  No 
summer  drought  had  ever  dried  it;  no  winter  cold  had 
ever  frozen  it.     Hitherto  the  Lord  hath  helped  us. 

Yet  the  path  of  life  was  not  all  smooth  for  this  man, 
either  before  or  behind.  He  had  been  exposed  to  great 
danger  and  severe  suffering;  but  he  had  been  carried 
through.  He  will  sing  of  mercy  and  judgment.  A 
man's  cheerfulness  and  contentment  depend  not  so 
much  on  the  measure  of  prosperity,  as  on  the  condition 
of  mind  that  he  has  attained.  Some  people  never  see 
the  time  and  occasion  for  cheerful  thanksgiving;  and 
some  never  see  the  time  when  praise  is  out  of  place. 
One  man  can  never  see  the  end  of  his  troubles,  and 
therefore  he  is  always  grumbling;  another  man  can 
never  number  up  all  his  mercies,  and  therefore  he  is 
always  ready  with  a  song.     "  In  everything,  by  prayer 


452  TJie  C/mrch  in  the  House. 

and  supplication  with  thanksgiving,  let  your  requests 
be  made  known  unto  God." 

It  is  worthy  of  remark  here,  that  while  the  storm 
was  at  its  height  and  no  relief  yet  in  view,  Paul  found 
opportunity  to  give  thanks  aloud  in  behalf  of  all  the 
ship's  company  for  a  morsel  of  food.  When  he  could 
not  stand  upright  on  deck  on  account  of  the  rolling  of 
the  wreck,  he  grasped  the  mast  in  one  hand  to  keep 
himself  from  falling,  and  lifted  the  other  up  to  heaven 
in  token  of  exultant  gratitude  to  God  for  daily  bread. 
And  here,  when  the  prospect  is  somewhat  brighter, 
on  the  dry  land,  and  in  presence  of  his  brethren,  he 
gave  way  again  to  the  ruling  passion, — ^^Praise  the  Lord 
for  his  goodness,  for  his  wonderful  works  to  the  chil- 
dren of  men.  It  is  evident  that  his  heart  was  habitually 
full,  and  therefore  overflowed  on  every  emerging  op- 
portunity. It  is  not  the  fulness  of  the  basket,  but  the 
fulness  of  the  heart,  that  makes  the  grateful  man. 

Por  the  future,  "he  took  courage."  Mark  well 
what  this  true,  bold  man  "took"  at  Appii  Forum  by 
the  sight  of  fellow  disciples:  it  was  not  comfort,  but 
courage.  He  was  made  glad,  not  by  an  expectation 
that  henceforth  he  should  have  no  battle  to  fight,  but 
by  a  resolution  to  fight  and  win.  The  distinction  be- 
tween these  two  states  of  mind  is  practically  of  great 
importance.  In  some  of  their  aspects  they  are  like 
each  other;  and  therefore  there  is  greater  risk  of 
taking  the  spurious  for  the  genuine.  The  element 
of  cheerfulness  is  common  to  both.  The  one  is  sel- 
fishly cheerful,  in  the  prospect  of  ignoble  ease;  the 
other  is  patriotically  cheerful,  in  the  prospect  of  suc- 
cessful labor.  Comfort  does  not  look  forward  at  all, 
but  says,  Aha,  I  am  warm;  makes  a  soft  nest,  and  lies 
down  to  sleep:  Despondency  looks  forward,  indeed, 
but  sees  a  lion  on  the  path,  and  lies  down  to  weep: 
Courage  looks  forward,  and  sees  the  lion  too,  but  be- 
lieves him  vincible,  and  girds  itself  for  the  combat. 
Courage,  in  the  person  of  Luther,  would  go  forward 
to  bear  testimony  for  Christ,  although  every  tile  on  the 
roofs  of  Worms  were  a  devil.  This  is  the  true  Chris- 
tian spirit, — the  spirit  of  Paul  and  of  Luther.  Comfort 
seeks  ease  by  declining  the  combat;  Courage  expects 
progress   through   victory.     This,  under  the  name  of 


Gratitude   and  Fortitude.  453 

Virtue,  is  precisely  the  quality  which  Peter  exhorts 
good  soldiers  of  Jesus  Christ  to  add  to  their  faith.  In 
ancient  times,  and  in  human  affairs,  it  ranked  highest, 
and  was  understood  to  include  within  itself  all  the  vir- 
tues. In  the  kingdom  of  God  also  it  is  set  in  a  high 
place,  and  valued  at  a  great  price. 

The  Christian  course  is  compared  to  a  warfare,  and 
to  a  merchandise.  Both  soldiers  and  merchants  fondly 
cherish  the  hope  of  retiring.  In  the  toils  of  war  and 
of  traffic,  the  prospect  of  rest  becomes  a  sort  of  pole- 
star  dimly  shining  on  the  low,  far-off  horizon.  But  it 
seldom  becomes  anything  more  than  a  shadow.  It  is 
as  beautiful  as  the  rainbow,  and  as  hard  to  grasp.  In 
old  age  it  is  ordinarily  as  far  off  as  ever.  Men  have 
supported  themselves  in  a  life-long  labor  by  the  hope 
of  a  rich  and  honorable  retreat;  and  the  retreat,  when 
they  reached  it,  has  proved  more  insupportable  than 
the  labor.  From  the  Christian's  warfare  there  is  no 
release  in  this  world;  he  must  die  in  harness.  Nor 
does  he  count  this  condition  hard.  He  knows  that 
earnest  effort  contributes  more  to  happiness  and  health 
than  useless  rest.  Paul  knew,  indeed,  of  an  honorable 
retirement;  but  it  lay  beyond  the  grave.  "A  rest  re- 
maineth  for  the  people  of  God."  Christians  do  not 
rest  /;/  their  labors;  but  one  day  they  shall  rest  front 
them.  Their  works  too  shall  follow  them; — activity, 
effort,  result,  will  continue  in  a  better  world, — but  all 
the  weariness  will  be  left  behind. 

It  is  better  to  have  courage  to  face  difficulties,  than 
to  have  no  difficulties  to  face:  the  one  is  a  leaping, 
sparkling  river;  the  other  is  a  stagnant  pool. 

At  present  there  is  much  need  of  courage.  The 
enemy  cometh  in  like  a  flood.  It  is  a  motley  host. 
\^ice  in  the  masses  at  the  bottom  of  the  scale:  vice  in 
the  flutterers  floating  on  the  top.  From  the  press 
printed  sheets  fall  like  snow-flakes, — some  covertly 
encjeavoring  to  undermine  all  faith,  and  some  pander- 
ing to  mere  vulgar  vice.  Pleasure  and  worldliness  in- 
vade the  Christian  circle,  and  deluge  it;  and  at  such  a 
time,  not  a  few  are  found  wasting  the  energy  that 
should  be  devoted  to  the  help  of  the  Lord  against  the 
mighty  in  contending  for  pin-points  or  chasing  shadows  ! 

Rome  was  at  that  time  an  immense  city.     It  con 


454  T^f^^  ChzircJi  in  the  House. 

tained  a  population  of  two  millions,  of  whom  one  half 
were  slaves.  A  few  thousands  of  an  aristocracy  mo- 
nopolized the  wealth  and  power;  the  remainder  of  the 
freemen  were  very  poor.  Multitudes  of  them  had  no 
shelter  at  night  but  the  streets,  and  porticoes  of  tem- 
ples. They  counted  themselves  above  labor.  Their 
lot  was  pride  and  poverty.  Such  seems  the  uniform 
effect  of  slavery.  It  makes  the  condition  of  citizens 
who  do  not  own  property  most  wretched.  The  pres- 
ence of  slavery  renders  labor  a  disgrace;  and  when  the 
poor  do  not  toil,  they  become  a  burden  to  themselves 
and  the  community. 

When  the  prisoners  were  handed  over  to  the  cap- 
tain of  the  guard — at  the  time  a  man  named  Burrus — ■ 
he  immediately  conceded  to  Paul  an  exceptional  meas- 
ure of  liberty.  This  was  no  doubt  due  in  part  to  the 
favorable  report  sent  by  Felix,  and  in  part  to  the  fer- 
vent friendship  of  the  centurion  Julius,  who  had  con- 
ducted the  prisoner  from  Caesarea  to  Rome.  As  much 
freedom  was  allowed  to  Paul  as  was  consistent  with 
the  stern  military  code  of  the  empire.  Instead  of  be- 
ing confined  with  a  crowd  of  evil-doers  in  the  preto- 
rian  barracks,  he  was  permitted  to  go  where  he  pleased 
in  the  custody  of  a  soldier.  Night  and  day,  however, 
he  was  chained  by  the  arm  to  his  keeper.  It  is  amaz- 
ing that  Paul  speaks  so  cheerfully  about  his  condition 
in  Rome.  The  single  circumstance  that  he  was  not 
prevented  from  preaching  Christ  seems  to  have  out- 
weighed in  his  esteem  all  the  restraints  otherwise 
imposed  upon  his  liberty.  In  this  one  liberty  he  ex- 
ults, and  seems  almost  to  forget  that  he  is  a  prisoner. 

During  these  two  years,  the  guard  was  often  shifted. 
Night  and  morning  the  military  machine  moved  round, 
and  the  man  who  had  fulfilled  his  term  of  duty  was  re- 
lieved by  a  fresh  guard.  But  while  the  guards  came 
and  went,  the  prisoner  remained  the  same.  There 
would,  doubtless,  be  degrees  of  evil.  Some  soldiers 
who  took  their  turn  would  be  ruder,  some  more  gentle; 
but  bad  was  the  best,  when  this  man,  refined  at  first 
by  all  the  culture  of  the  day,  and  purified  afterwards 
by  having  Christ  formed  in  him  at  the  regeneration, 
was  compelled  to  have  a  chance  soldier  of  the  pretorian 
guards  chained  to  his  body  night  and  day  for  two  years. 


Pa7<l  in  Rome.  455 

It  was  a  grievous  bondage  !  but  the  prisoner  did  not 
complain.  He  had  learned  to  count  these  troubles 
light  by  balancing  them  in  the  scale  against  an  exceed- 
ing great  weight  of  glory;  he  had  learned  to  look  on 
the  troubles  as  of  but  a  moment's  duration  by  contrast- 
ing them  with  an  everlasting  rest.  Paul  has  not  yet  for- 
gotten that  iron  chain,  or  those  rude  Roman  men  to 
whom  it  bound  him.  The  sufferings  have  already,  in 
eighteen  hundred  years  of  heaven,  repaid  themselves 
many  times  over,  in  the  enhancement  of  his  joy  which 
the  memory  of  them  supplies.  Softer  chains  now  bind 
him  to  better  company.  Nothing  shall  separate  him 
from  the  love  of  God,  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord. 


CIV. 
PAUL  LV  ROME. 


"  And  it  came  to  pass,  that  after  three  days  Paul  called  the  chief 
of  the  'Jei.vs  toj^ether:  and  when  they  tvere  come  together,  he  said  unto 
them.  Men  and  brethren,  though  I  have  committed  nothing  against  the 
people,  or  customs  of  our  fathers,  yet  was  I  delivered  prisoner  from 
Jerusalem  into  the  hands  of  the  Romans  "  etc. — ACTS  XXVIII.  17-22. 

There  were  strong  ernotions  on  both  sides  when  Paul 
and  the  Roman  Christians  met  at  Appii  Forum.  The 
faith  and  fervor  manifested  on  his  part  sprang  from 
another  meeting  that  had  happened  long  before,  as 
the  fruit  springs  from  seed.  Many  years  before  this 
event,  Paul  the  young  was  approaching  a  great  East- 
ern city  with  a  commission  of  high  import,  his  heart 
earnest  to  fulfil  it,  as  Paul  the  aged  now  approached 
the  great  capital  of  the  West.  Then,  too,  as  on  this 
occasion,  the  dangling  of  chains  might  be  heard  as  the 
procession  marched.  Then,  and  there,  however,  Saul, 
the  chief  commissioner,  did  not  wear  them;  they  were 
borne  in  his  train,  and  employed  at  his  pleasure.  Here, 
the  chains  are  hanging  on  his  own  arms.  Then,  as  now, 
he  was  met  before  he  reached  the  city.  Met  him  then, 
not  Christians,  but  Christ.     Not  to  embracers  brothers 


456  The   CJmrcJi  in  the  House. 

those  two  met;  they  met  as  foes  meet  on  the  battle- 
field. Christ  was  revealed  from  heaven  the  King-  of 
Glory,  and  the  apostle  of  the  high  priest  fell  to  the 
ground.  The  stony  heart  of  the  Pharisaic  persecutor 
melted,  and  took  on  a  new  moulding.  He  became  a 
new  creature.  The  old  man  was  put  off,  and  the  new 
put  on. 

That  meeting  with  Christ  on  the  way  to  Damascus 
was  the  root  of  this  meeting  with  Christians  on  the 
way  to  Rome.  From  the  sorrow  of  the  first  meeting 
sprang  the  joy  of  the  second.  Meetings  with  Chris- 
tians will  be  cold  and  superficial,  if  we  have  not  so  met 
with  Christ.  We  shall  get  little  cheering  from  the 
light  of  a  brother's  countenance,  if  we  have  not  pre- 
viously been  melted  and  remoulded  by  the  Light  of 
Life.  When  Christ  is  yours,  all  things  are  yours;  and 
the  fervent  love  of  fellow  disciples  is  an  item  in  the 
vast  inventory. 

There  must  have  been  a  liberal  collection  made 
among  the  disciples  in  Rome  for  the  supply  of  the 
apostle's  wants;  for  we  learn  that  he  dwelt  two  whole 
years  in  his  own  hired  house.  The  rent  of  a  house  in 
the  capital  large  enough  to  receive  for  conference  all 
the  leading  Jews  in  Rome  must  have  amounted  to  a 
considerable  sum.  Those  who  contributed  to  pay  it 
would  consider  it  a  missionary  contribution,  and  enter 
it  in  their  books  as  "lent  to  the  Lord." 

There  must  have  been  a  quick,  spontaneous  liberal- 
ity in  those  days  among  the  disciples  of  Jesus;  and 
Paul,  though  he  lived  in  poverty,  had  large  resources  at 
command  for  the  work  of  the  kingdom.  Witness  the  sale 
of  property  at  Jerusalem  in  the  beginning  of  the  gospel. 
It  must  have  been  a  broad,  deep,  rapid  stream  of  holy 
beneficence  that  flowed  through  the  city,  when  it  had 
power  enough  to  float  two  such  heavy  hulks  of  hypoc- 
risy as  Ananias  and  Sapphira.  Witness  too,  at  a  later 
date,  the  expectations  of  the  keen-scented  mercenary, 
Felix,  who  conferred  frequently  with  Paul  the  prisoner,  in 
the  hope  of  getting  a  bribe  for  setting  him  free  Felix 
was  well  aware  of  two  things:  first,  that  Paul  his  prisoner 
had  not  a  penny;  but  second,  that  by  raising  his  finger, 
the  missionary  could  draw  on  the  purses  of  many  substan- 
tial citizens  for  any  object  which  he  might  have  at  heart. 


Paul  ill   Rome.  457 

It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  Paul  at  Rome,  when  near 
the  end  of  his  course,  still  maintained  faithfully  his  orig- 
inal rule  of  addressing  himself  first  to  the  Jews.  Let 
his  believing  brethren  wait  awhile;  they  can  afford  to 
bide  their  time.  On  their  way  to  the  city,  it  is  prob- 
able that  he  made  his  arrangements  in  concert  with 
the  deputation.  He  would  explain  to  them  his  princi- 
ple and  his  practice, — first  to  the  seed  of  Israel.  If  he 
had  gone  first  to  the  Christians,  the  Jews  might  have 
taken  offence.  He  will  be  all  things  yet  to  these  men, 
that  he  may  gain  some  of  them. 

When  the  leading  Jews  were  assembled  to  hear  his 
explanation,  his  discourse,  as  usual,  was  personal  and 
apologetic.  He  endeavors  at  the  outset  to  remove 
prepossessions  which  might  hinder  the  reception  of 
his  message.  First  of  all,  he  zealously  claims  kindred 
with  them.  By  his  appeal  to  the  emperor  against  the 
Sanhedrim,  they  might  have  been  led  to  suppose  that 
he  was  dragging  the  sacred  authorities  of  the  chosen 
nation  before  the  tribunal  of  a  heathen  power.  With 
eagerness  he  clears  himself  of  that  charge,  and  makes 
it  plain  that  his  appeal  was  taken  simply  to  save  his 
life,  when  his  enemies  had  plotted  to  take  it  away. 

The  name  of  Christ  borne  by  the  chosen  vessel  has 
now  been  brought  to  Rome.  It  has  passed  from  Jeru- 
salem through  Judaea  and  Samaria;  and  now  it  had 
reached  those  seven  hills,  which,  politically,  were  the 
loftiest  pinnacle  of  the  earth,  and  from  which  it  might 
be  carried  by  the  natural  channels  to  the  whole  circle 
of  subject  nations.  Wonderful  were  the  ways  of  God 
in  reaching  this  result.  The  imperial  legions  must 
furnish  an  escort,  and  the  imperial  exchequer  must 
pay  the  passage.  Even  to  the  stormy  waves  of  the 
Mediterranean  the  word  of  the  Lord  had  come  in 
power; — Touch  not  my  prophet,  and  do  mine  anointed 
no  harm.  Destroy  not  this  frail  vessel,  for  it  bears  a 
blessing  to  the  western  world. 

Those  who  publish  maps  to  illustrate  the  propaga- 
tion of  the  gospel  in  early  times,  mark  Paul's  route  by 
a  red  line.  In  that  line  there  are  many  bendings  and 
b.ickward  turns.  It  is  drawn  zig-zag,  as  lightning  from 
the  cloud  is  represented;  but  with  all  its  turns,  it  ever 
turns  aright, — westward  ever,  to  bear  the  gospel  to  the 


458  TJie   CJuwcIl   in   the  House. 

nations  of  the  future.  In  a  similar  way  the  course  of 
the  electric  wire  from  continent  to  continent  across 
the  ocean  is  sometimes  designated  on  the  map.  If  the 
course  of  the  line  lately  laid  between  France  and 
America  were  so  represented  on  the  chart,  it  would 
be  like  the  line  that  marks  Paul's  voyage.  There  was 
a  halt  in  mid-ocean:  the  cable  suddenly  became  dumb, 
and  could  not  tell  the  cause  of  its  own  silence.  Com- 
munication with  the  shore  ceased  for  several  days; 
and  when  it  was  resumed  we  learned  the  cause  of  the 
interruption.  A  gale  sprang  up;  the  operators  feared 
lest  in  the  heavy  sea  the  cabl-e  should  part.  They  cut 
and  buoyed  it.  Then  they  trimmed  the  ship  to  ride 
out  the  storm.  When  the  storm  was  over,  they  sought 
and  found  the  buoy;  caught  the  cable,  spliced  it,  and 
went  on  as  before.  Suppose  for  a  moment  that  the 
populations  of  the  American  continent  had  all  previ- 
ously been  entirely  destitute  of  the  gospel,  and  that 
this  submerged  conductor  was  the  only  channel  by 
which  they  could  hope  to  receive  it:  in  that  case  a 
thrilling  interest  would  attach  to  the  incident, — to  the 
storm  and  the  severance  of  the  wire,  and  the  skill  of 
the  operators  in  healing  the  breach.  The  spot  was  the 
Malta  of  the  modern  mission  voyage. 

The  line  that  the  ship  of  Adramyttium  made  on  the 
eastern  waters  of  the  Mediterranean,  and  that  which 
the  Castor  and  Pollux  made  from  Malta  to  Puteoli, 
faded  away  a  few  yards  behind  the  keels;  but  a  line 
unseen  was  paid  out  in  that  voyage  through  which 
throbbed  life  from  the  dead  to  the  western  world. 
How  much  depended  on  the  voyage  of  one  mortal 
man  across  those  wintry  waters.  The  Lord  had  need 
of  him,  and  therefore  the  Euroclydon  could  not  swal- 
low him  up. 


Closing  Glimpses.  459 

CV. 

CLOSING   GLIMPSES. 

"A II J  7clu-n  they  had  appointed  him  a  day,  there  came  many  to  him 
into  his  lodging;  to  -uho/n  he  expounded  and  testified  the  kingdom  of 
God,  persuading  them  concerning  Jesus,  both  out  of  the  law  of  Mo- 
ses, and  out  of  the  Prophets,  from  morning  till  evening,''''  etc. — Acts 
XXVIII.  23-31. 

At  a  preliminary  meeting  of  the  Jewish  chiefs,  three 
days  after  his  arrival,  Paul  anxiously  explained  that  he 
brought  no  accusation  against  his  country  or  his  peo- 
ple. They  seem  to  have  been  much  i-mpressed  by  his 
statement,  and  especially  by  his  declaration,  "  for  the 
hope  of  Israel  I  am  bound  with  these  chains."  This 
makes  him  one  with  themselves;  instead  of  plotting 
against  them,  this  man  suffers  on  their  side.  They 
desire  to  hear  a  fuller  explanation  of  his  position;  es- 
pecially how  he  reconciles  his  continued  hold  of  "  the 
hope  of  Israel,"  with  his  attachment  to  the  sect  which 
is  everywhere  spoken  against.  By  mutual  consent  an- 
other day  is  fi.xed;  and  at  the  appointed  time  the  same 
parties  return  with  many  others  in  their  company. 

A  whole  day  was  spent  in  the  discussion.  The 
conference  would  probably,  for  the  most  part,  assume 
the  form  of  conversation.  Questions  would  be  asked 
and  answered;  objections  stated  and  removed.  The 
Scriptures  of  the  Old  Testament  constituted  the  ac- 
knowledged authority  for  the  disputants  on  both  sides 
alike.  The  venerated  parchments  lay  on  the  table,  and 
were  from  time  to  time  spread  out  to  correct  and  verify 
a  quotation.  The  substance  of  all  that  Paul  said  at  the 
prolonged  conference  is  reported  in  one  verse:  "  He 
expounded  and  testified  the  kingdom  of  God,  persuad- 
ing them  concerning  Jesus,  both  out  of  the  law  of 
Moses,  and  out  of  the  prophets,  from  morning  till 
evening."  This  is  a  remarkable  epitome.  It  contains 
the  whole  case  in  a  very  small  compass.  It  is  some- 
what like  the  condensed  report  of  Philip's  sermon  to 
the  Ethiopian  prince,  "beginning  from  that  same 
Scripture,  he  preached  unto  him  Jesus." 


460  The   Church   in  the  House. 

By  comparing  Scripture  with  Scripture,  Paul  ex- 
pounded to  these  inquirers  that  the  kingdom  of  the 
future,  predicted  by  the  prophets,  is  not  Hmited  to  one 
nation,  but  co-extensive  with  the  world;  that  if  it  be 
limited  for  a  time,  it  is  limited  like  a  seed,  only  until 
the  set  time  come  for  its  indefinite  multiplication  and 
expansion.  He  showed  them  that  the  King,  though 
universal  Lord,  yet  suffers  and  dies, — gives  his  life  a 
ransom; — that  his  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world;  that 
he  is  King  of  thoughts,  not  of  armies;  that  he  wins  by 
love — by  enduring.  He  showed  them  that  in  Jesus  of 
Nazareth  all  the  conditions  of  the  expected  Messiah 
were  fulfilled:  he  employed  the  law  to  shut  them  up 
unto  the  gospel. 

Some  were  won.  The  laborer  obtained  souls  for  his 
hire  after  that  long  day's  work.  At  night,  and  imme- 
diately before  the  company  separated,  Paul  addressed 
a  very  solemn  warning  from  the  Prophecy  of  Isaiah  to 
the  unbelieving  portion  of  the  audience.  He  felt  that 
this  was  the  crisis  of  their  fate,  and  yearned  for  their 
salvation.  Throwing  upon  themselves  the  responsi- 
bility of  rejecting  Christ  promised  in  their  own  Scrip- 
tures, and  now  pressed  on  their  acceptance,  he  pro- 
claimed that  moving  of  the  door  which  permitted  the 
light  to  flow  on  the  Gentiles,  and  at  the  same  time  left 
the  Jews  shut  up  in  the  darkness  which  they  had  cho- 
sen. After  they  had  left  the  conference,  it  is  inti- 
mated that  these  Jews  "had  great  reasoning  among 
themselves."  We  may  be  permitted  to  hope  that  an- 
other section  of  these  grave  and  sad  children  of  Abra- 
ham, as  the  result  of  that  reasoning,  were  shut  up 
unto  the  faith. 

This  last  testimony  uttered  by  the  apostle  throws 
light  on  the  structure  and  design  of  the  Book  of  the 
Acts.  The  history  is  designed  to  exhibit  the  transi- 
tion of  the  kingdom  from  Israel  as  a  nation  to  the 
whole  human  family.  When  this  transference  has  been 
completed,  the  historian's  work  is  done.  Here,  ac- 
cordingly, the  record  abruptly  closes.  The  final  note, 
as  in  other  melodies,  is  the  key-note:  Christ  rejected 
by  Israel,  to  whom  he  came;  is  offered  to  the  Gentiles. 
Henceforth  all  distinctions  are  levelled  except  one: 
the  distinction  between  those  who  believe,  and  those 


Closing  Glimpses.  461 

who  believe  not,  in  the  only  begotten  Son  of  God. 
There  is  now  no  condemnation  to  them  that  are  in 
Christ  Jesus,  whether  they  be  Jews  or  Greeks,  bond  or 
free.  The  kingdom  consists  of  all,  out  of  every  nation 
and  kindred  and  tongue,  who  have  washed  their  robes, 
and  made  them  white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb.  One 
man  is  not  rejected  because  he  is  a  descendant  of  Ca- 
naan, and  another  is  not  accepted  because  he  is  of  the 
seed  of  Abraham  according  to  the  flesh;  but  whoso- 
ever shall  call  on  the  name  of  the  Lord,  the  same 
shall  be  saved. 

After  these  events  Paul  dwelt  two  years  in  his  own 
hired  house,  receiving  all  comers,  and  preaching  the 
gospel  in  all  its  fulness  to  every  class,  and  with  com- 
plete impunity.  The  foundations  of  the  Church  at 
Rome  were  during  these  two  years  laid  deep  and 
broad.  Alas  !  huge  piles  of  wood,  hay,  stubble,  have 
been  reared  upon  the  true  foundation  there  through- 
out the  long  usurpation  of  the  Papacy.  There  must 
be  much  fierce  burning  ere  all  that  rubbish  be  con- 
sumed, and  the  primitive  Church  come  forth  in  apos- 
tolic purity  and  power.  Let  one  read  the  Epistle  to 
the  Romans  and  the  latest  encyclical  of  the  present 
Pontiff  at  the  same  sitting,  and  he  will  experience  the 
sensation  of  passing  from  the  green  grass  and  blue  sky 
and  bright  sunshine  of  a  summer  day  among  the  moun- 
tains, into  a  dark  cavern  where  the  air  cannot  get  in, 
and  the  smoke  cannot  get  out.  If  a  Roman  citizen  of 
this  nineteenth  century,  who  loyally  accepts  the  Pope 
and  his  infallibility,  should  be  led  to  read  the  Book  of 
the  Acts,  and  Paul's  Epistle  to  the  Church  of  his  fore- 
fathers, he  would  necessarily  think  these  two  books  of 
sacred  Scripture  spurious,  for  they  say  nothing  of  the 
Virgin  Mary  or  the  saints,  nothing  of  images  and  rel- 
ics, nothing  of  penance  and  purgatory. 

While  Paul  was  a  prisoner  at  Rome,  Nero  was 
emperor  there.  Not  only  was  he  a  cruel  and  unjust 
ruler,  but  his  very  name  has  become  a  proverb  for 
vice  in  all  its  vilest  forms  and  extremest  measures. 
The  whole  power  of  the  civilized  world  was  wielded 
by  that  incarnation  of  wickedness.  Yet  although  this 
monster  shed  the  blood  of  both  his  own  wife  and  his 
own  mother,  it  was  not   in   his  power   to  pervert  all 


462  The   Church  in   the  House. 

the  acts  of  his  administration.  Even  he,  when  un- 
der the  influence  of  good  counsellors,  sometimes  pro- 
nounced and  executed  right  decisions.  Some  restraint 
was  providentially  laid  upon  the  tyrant.  Contempo- 
rary history  gives  no  account  of  Paul's  trial.  On  the 
first  occasion  he  seems  to  have  been  acquitted.  He 
who  had  delivered  David  from  the  lion  and  the  bear, 
was  able  to  deliver  him  out  of  the  hand  of  the  Philis- 
tine; he  who  had  delivered  the  missionary  from  the 
hands  of  Felix  and  Festus,  could  deliver  him  from 
Nero's  cruelty,  and  shield  his  life  until  his  work  was 
done. 

From  the  later  Epistles  some  incidents  of  the  apos- 
tle's subsequent  history  may  be  gathered.  These, 
when  woven  together,  seem  to  intimate  that,  after 
having  been  tried  and  acquitted  at  Rome,  he  visited 
Ephesus,  and  thence  returned  to  the  capital;  that  he 
travelled  to  the  east  yet  again,  and  on  his  return 
penetrated  into  Spain;  and  that  at  last  he  was  ar- 
rested at  Rome,  and  put  to  death  about  the  end  of 
Nero's  reign. 

His  residence  at  the  capital  seems  to  have  been 
the  most  active  and  useful  period  of  Paul's  life,  al- 
though it  did  not  fall  within  the  scope  of  the  historian 
to  comprehend  it  in  his  narrative.  Many  of  his  best 
friends  were  for  longer  or  shorter  periods  at  his  side 
—Luke,  his  fellow-traveller,  for  example;  and  Timo- 
thy, his  son  in  the  faith. 

Two  men,  who  were  for  a  time  his  coadjutors  in 
Rome,  stand  contrasted  with  each  other  so  as  to  read 
a  very  searching  lesson  for  disciples  in  all  times.  De- 
mas  and  Mark  are  both  recognized  as  fellow-workers 
(Phil.  24;  Col.  iv.  14).  These  two  men  might  almost 
have  sat  for  the  picture  of  the  sons  whom  the  father 
commanded  to  work  in  his  vineyard.  The  one  said, 
I  go,  sir,  and  went  not;  the  other  said,  I  will  not, 
but  afterwards  repented  and  went.  The  sad  apostle's 
later  testimony  regarding  Demas  is,  "  He  hath  for- 
saken me,  having  loved  this  present  world  "  (2  Tim. 
iv.  10).  Whereas,  although  Mark  at  an  early  date 
had  incurred  his  displeasure  for  preferring  his  own 
ease  to  the  necessity  of  the  work,  a  glad  reconcilia- 
tion was  subsequently  effected;  and  the  aged  mission- 


Closing   Glimpses.  463 

ary,  when  almost  within  sit^ht  of  his  crown,  and  at 
the  very  time  when  he  had  occasion  to  record  the 
defection  of  Demas,  sent  to  Timothy  the  message; — 
"Take  Mark,  and  bring  him  with  thee:  for  he  is 
profitable  to  me  for  the  ministry"  (2  Tim.  iv.  11). 

The  case  of  the  slave  Onesimus,  which  occurred 
at  Rome  during  this  period,  can  be  restored  from 
fragmentary  notices,  and  is  full  of  instruction.  This 
man  had  been  owned  by  Philemon,  a  citizen  of  Co- 
losse.  He  robbed  his  master  and  ran  away.  The 
outlaw  found  his  way  to  Rome,  like  most  of  his  kind; 
for  in  the  crowded  dens  of  the  capital  the  best  cover 
could  be  found  by  those  who  endeavored  to  elude  the 
pursuit  of  law.  The  hordes  of  the  wretched  and  the 
criminal  who  at  that  time,  we  cannot  say  resided,  but 
existed  homeless,  in  the  great  city,  cannot  well  be  de- 
scribed or  conceived.  Modern  experience,  bad  though 
it  be,  affords  no  parallel,  at  least  in  Christianized 
countries. 

The  general  prevalence  of  slavery  dislocates  and  cor- 
rupts society  to  an  extent  of  which  we  in  our  favored 
circumstances  have  no  adequate  conception.  Onesi- 
mus, plunged  into  this  mass  of  misery  and  crime,  was 
lost  as  a  microscopic  atom  of  iron  is  lost  among  a 
heap  of  dust;  but  as  such  an  atom  so  lost  may  be 
found  by  plunging  a  magnet  into  the  same  heap,  so 
was  Onesimus  rescued.  He  heard  Paul  preaching  Christ, 
and  was  won.  How  the  missionary  and  the  outlaw  came 
in  contact,  we  cannot  tell.  Perhaps  the  missionary 
found  his  way  sometimes  into  those  quarters  of  the 
city  where  the  baser  sort  do  congregate.  Perhaps  the 
man,  intelligent  though  outcast,  became  w^eary  of  the 
\ile  society  intQ  which  his  misfortunes  and  his  faults 
had  cast  him  and  he  may  have  ventured  under  cloud  of 
night,  trembling  lest  the  officers  should  track  his  steps, 
to  the  place  where  Paul  was  expected  to  preach.  But 
in  some  manner,  to  us  unknown,  He  who  procured  a 
meeting  between  Philip  and  the  Ethiopian  in  the  des- 
ert, procured  a  meeting  between  the  apostle  of  the 
(ientilcs  and  the  runaway  slave  in  the  metropolis  of 
the  world.  The  poor  shivering  outcast  heard  of  the 
Man  that  "  receiveth  sinners" — heard  and  believed, 
and  lived. 


464  The  C/iurch  in   the   House. 

Paul  found  in  this  man,  when  he  was  made  new,  a 
special  aptitude  for  missionary  work,  and  determined 
to  employ  him.  But  Onesimus  is  not  yet  free  to  begin. 
He  is  willing  to  lay  himself  now  on  the  altar  as  a  liv- 
ing sacrifice;  but  he  must  pause — he  must  leave  his 
gift  before  the  altar,  and  go  first  and  be  reconciled  to 
his  brother  Philemon.  Under  Paul's  instructions  he  re- 
turned to  his  former  master  and  gave  himself  up,  con- 
fident all  the  while  that  Philemon,  himself  ransomed 
by  the  same  Lord  that  had  redeemed  his  slave,  would 
not  any  more  exact  his  legal  rights.  The  episode  of 
Onesimus  and  Philemon,  with  its  combined  godliness 
and  manliness,  its  devotion  to  God  and  noble  charity 
between  man  and  man,  shines  amid  the  atheism  and 
vice  of  heathen  Rome  like  a  lightning  flash  in  the 
noon  of  night.  Again,  a  new  commandment  I  give 
unto  you,  that  ye  love  one  another. 


THE     END. 


BS2625.8.A76 

The  church  in  the  house  :  a  series  of 

Princeton  Theological  Seminary-Speer  Library 


1   1012  00070  3373 


2087OC„   13] 

11-13-07  321B0     MC 


